Team ASceND
by TheGuildless
Summary: A team of four made of three. How will this mess up the RWBYverse? Dunno, don't care. Will feature explicit language, very dry humor, detailed violence, maybe sex, playing with genetics and other fun stuff. This is the uncensored version so will go under M for safety. Will heavily stray from canon but I'll try my best. I own nothing but my oc's and plot. (OC-centric)
1. A Fresh Start

**A/N) So I had to stop on my other story, I lost interest in it, sorry. I'm starting a new character, one that may be in a game of mine if I do make them. His name is Aionion. I will be following his story as he joins his team of four. It is based in the RWBY world so I don't have to make another world from scratch. BTW my friend Adrienne says hi for some reason. ANYWAY, it will be a four-person team made of three. Also, they will not interfere with the normal RWBY cannon so I can't fuck that up too. Also, I will need two scientist names: one for combat and one for powers. Can't spoil too much so on with the story...**

* * *

When he woke up, all around him was hot, sun-baked desert. No memories or anything, just a clean slate. He blinked once, twice, three times, then tried to sit up. Only to fall back down as pain lanced through his head at even the slightest movement. Then the information came flooding which started as a trickle of information. Not exactly memories, but close enough to know he was on the planet Remnant, his name was Aionion, and stuck in the middle of a desert far to the south of Vale.

He finally sat up fully and looked at the sparse clothes he wore. He wore a small, tattered white shirt and black shorts that looked like they were made for someone much smaller than his height of 6'7".

If his memories were right, there was a nearby city. Although, it was very corrupted and run by the local marauders. He picked himself off the ground: carefully, just in case any sudden movements made the pain came back. When he was fully sure the pain wouldn't come back, he set off for the nearby town of Pustyne.

As he walked he saw lines appearing in the desert approaching him. The lines slowly turned to dug up earth and continued in a seemingly random pattern. He continued to stare at the ground until the lines neared him and then he saw the fins rise out of the sand.

Landsharks! One of the most dangerous forms of Grimm because they always hunt in packs of four or more. Aionion turned to the nearest fin and was nearly swallowed as he dived away from the Grimm's jaw.

He continued ducking and diving as the sharks continued to circle him and strike randomly. He knew as soon as he bled, the feeding frenzy would start. He looked into the distance at the city and deemed it his best chance of survival.

Aionion jumped over another leap of a landshark, and dashed towards the city. Then he looked behind him and saw that the sharks were following him at a distance; as if knowing he was going to the city.

He continued running until the front gates were in view and the guards that were in front of them.

He made sure to look as inconspicuous as possible before confronting the guards: but at over six feet, he was taller than most adults thirty years his senior. He would attract a lot of attention. The fact that his head only had eyes but no mouth or nose didn't help either.

When he neared the gates manned by the marauders, they took one look at him and opened the gates. It seemed they thought he was a traveler who had an unfortunate accident. He ignored the whispers of what happened to him and walked into the city of Pustyne.

He heard the whispers when he entered the city about his lack of facial features but shrugged it off. He knew the faunas had worse. They were beaten and enslaved, he was lucky he was only whispered about. He wandered through the scorching desert city then felt, rather then heard, the heavy thump of a fist hitting a body. He followed the sound until he came to an alleyway that was blocked off by some of the thugs.

Past the two thugs, Aionion could see a girl who had flames dancing around in her palm. Aionion watched the flames as they danced back and forth in her hands. He was torn out of his thoughts as he heard her whimper when the flames, the only thing keeping the thugs back, died out. He watched as the thugs started to surround her. Aionion stepped into the alleyway but was held back by one of the two watching the street. The thug holding him back wrapped Aionion in his arms when Aionion tried to shove past him. Aionion breathed in and out, preparing to fight them off. He slid out of the thugs beefy arms, and ducked under a punch that another was preparing to hit him with. It hit the guard who was holding him and knocked him unconscious._ One down, three to go._

Aionion turned to the remaining thug and ducked underneath another blow only to be kicked in the ribs by him. Aionion was breathing heavy after that kick. It seemed these thugs were higher than your average ruffian. Aionion would have to fight tooth and nail to survive. While Aionion was preparing the second street thug was winding back an arm for a hay-maker. Aionion deflected the blow by hitting the guards elbow and a sharp _crack _resounded off the walls. The man fell down clutching his arm and Aionion turned towards the two surrounding the girl.

The thugs had surrounded her and held her. One held her arms and the last was coping a feel of her still developing breasts. The girl was whimpering and the two holding her were laughing at her inability to fight. Aionion picked up a nearby pipe and hit the thug feeling her up, knocking him out. The other thug dropped the girl and chased after him. He ducked under the slow punch and threw the girl out of the alley. The girl hit the ground hard and moaned in pain as she hit the wall across the street. Some passing civilians picked the girl up and slung her over their shoulder. With blackening vision, she looked at her rescuer to see the man with the broken elbow standing behind him. He had a lead pipe and had raised it in what would be a crushing blow. The girl issued a warning, but it was too late to avoid it.

Aionion turned his head, and was dealt a glancing hit but it was enough to make his vision blur. He turned to the last guard but now there were two of them. Now Aionion was on guard. He wouldn't be able to tell the real one until its fist hit him.

The thug, impatient of waiting, threw the first punch. It hit Aionion square in the jaw and launched him back into a wall. Aionion internally groaned and made to stand up only to be kicked back to the ground.

The thug grinned and began to beat on him in earnest, yelling out insults. Most were about how he would pay for this and how they ran this town, their way. He beat, threw, punched, kicked, and bludgeoned him until he was nearly dead.

The girl came back into the alley after tge final thug had left. Aionion gave her a weak smile that was more of a grimace when she saw him. She rushed over to him and pulled his head onto her lap.

"I'm sorry you got hurt because of me. You should have just ignored them and saved yourself. This is all my faul-"

Aionion quieted her by bringing a bloodied finger to her lips. She looked down at him and smiled at his feeble attempt to calm her. The girl pulled on his arm and tried to pick him up.

"Get up, there are some people that can fix you. They're across town though, you're bleeding a lot, and I'm not strong enough to carry you so you have to get up!"

Aionion slowly stood up clutching the wall for support. His beaten and bloody body was shaking when he stood up, but he refused to sit and wait. He leaned on the girl as they began the long walk to where he could be fixed.

When they reached the facility, Aionion's pale skin was nearly to as white as a ghost. He was still dripping blood when they walked into the lobby of the facility. Aionion was still dripping blood on the ground when they went to the front desk. The girl coughed and the woman ignored her. The girl slapped the pencil the woman was writing with out of her hands and gestured to Aionion. The woman at the desk quickly sent a message to Dr. Burner.

Aionion was swaying by the time Burner got to the lobby. Aionion was put onto a stretcher and pushed through many hallways until they reached a room that had 'Anomalies' written on the plaque. Aionion was transfered to the bed and passed out before they knocked him out with the gas.

When Aionion awoke, the girl was sitting in a chair next to him, with her head on the bed and holding his hand. He looked at her and tried to smile but it came out more as a grimace. When he grimaced, Burner strode in and placed some black clothes onto the bed. Aionion sat up, pulled himself off the bed and began to pull on the slim-fit black clothes.

Once Aionion was fully dressed, Burner went to a desk in the corner and picked up a small clipboard with some paper on it. Burner turned to Aionion who was picking at the clothes on him. Before he opened his mouth to speak though, the young girl sat up and looked around frantically, as if meeting Aionion was a dream. Aionion noticed the bandage on her forehead and winced. When she saw him though, she calmed down but still looked restless.

Burner liked his job as a doctor and did it well. He was patient with Aionion, who could not physically talk, and the girl who was restless. He asked questions such as:

"Do you feel any pain?" The girl shook her head. Aionion didn't answer.

"Any headache or otherwise?" The girl shook her head but Aionion hesitated before nodding.

"How bad is it? A minor headache or is it throbbing?" Aionion nodded at the second one.

"Can you focus on anything? Anything at all?" Aionion nodded but it seemed like he was still out of it.

"Aionion stay with me. Can you focus on anything?" Aionion was swaying on his feet now. Burner and the girl grabbed an arm before they lowered him onto a nearby chair. Aionion was blinking rapidly and seemed to collapse on the chair when he barely touched it.

Aionion tried to blink away the blurriness but it forced the edges of his vision to blacken and finally block off his sight. He managed to hear Burner call for a doctor and the girl repeatedly yell his name before he fell unconscious for the second time.


	2. Decisions, Decisions

** Thanks to the fourteen people who read this. It made my day and I'm still etching out the plot but I have some villains and maybe I might borrow a few of RWBY's villains. If you have any suggestions, any at all, throw them to me and I'll see what I can do. Anyway, on with the story...**

When Aionion finally woke up, he was lying in a hospital bed. He could tell because the room was mostly colored a sterile white and smelt like antisceptics and cleaning chemicals.

He had so many wires and tubes attached to him, that he looked like he was part of the machine. He was back in the godforsaken hospital gown, and was completely alone in the room.

Aionion pulled the first cord off his chest and one of the machines started screeching like a banshee. Aionion simply punched the damn thing until it stopped.

He continued to pull off the cords. It took several minutes but he was finally free of the intruding objects. A nurse came in, took one look at him, and ran back out screaming that he was awake.

Dr. Burner raced in to see Aionion pulling on the black clothes he was given earlier that week. Aionion looked at him then nodded to the clock.

Dr. Burner was at a loss for words. _What the hell does that mean? _Dr. Burner asked, " Kid, what do you need? The time, the day, the year?" Aionion nodded at the second time period.

"Oh! It's been two days since you came to us. We were gonna wait until you were awake to examine how you function. Because you have no actual mouth, nose, or ears, we wanted to see how you're still alive."

Aionion stared at him until he realized what he meant. He gestured for the pen in Burner's shirt pocket. Burner looked confusedly at him. Frustrated, Aionion simply grabbed the pen in his pocket and the clipboard and wrote for a few minutes.

Aionion handed the clipboard back and watched as Burner read the note.

_ I absorb oxygen through my skin. I have no need for food because I also absorb it from the air. Think of me as a plant given human features and a conscience. I take in energy from the sun and use it accordingly. It is much more efficient than consuming the energy after it has been passed around._

Aionion's handwriting was cruel, but it got the point across. Burner stared at the writing, astonished. The boy was completely self sufficient. He used the sun's rays to replenish his energy instead of breaking down the food and using it to make energy.

"So what about sleeping?" Burner timidly asked. Aionion took the clipboard back and wrote a new note.

_I do not sleep. I can go dormant like plants to quickly replenish my aura and heal wounds, but it is only for emergencies. Going dormant requires a lot of energy and should only be used sparingly. I will long outlive your puny human lifespan._

Burner blanched at the insult wrapped in an innocent comment. Burner nodded and left the room, shaking his head. He turned left at the intersection, went down the long hallway, and entered a large room that was sparsely furnished.

Seriously! There was literally only a desk, a bookcase, a laptop on the desk, a lamp next to the laptop, and an antique looking chair.

Burner shivered at the cool air that went down his spine as he entered. The man that was in the chair still scared him. He stood at an imposing six feet and, while not very built, Burner knew the strength behind those hands. He couldn't shake hands with anyone for a week.

"Uh, Mr. Malcom?" He timidly asked. "The anomaly in Room 718 is awake. I suggest going to speak with the boy. His body is completely self sufficient. Here, read the notes he wrote." Burner passed the clipboard to Malcom.

Malcom looked over the notes that the kid had written for a few moments. He looked at Burner and asked, "What room did you say he was in?"

Burner was shaking after he told Malcom the room number. He continued shaking until he went to the employee's lounge where he promptly passed out. Thankfully he fainted near the couch and wouldn't suffer any injuries.

Malcom shook his head from inside his office. He saw the whole ordeal on the security cameras. He stood up, collected the clipboard and a pen, and left the room.

Malcom went down the long hallway, turned right, and entered Room 718. He shut the door behind him and turned to see the anomaly picking at the black clothes he wore. Malcom sat down in a nearby chair and looked over the notes once again.

"What's your name kid? I've gotta call you something." Aionion grabbed the pen and clipboard and wrote his name on it.

"Interesting name. Greek, if I'm not mistaken." Malcom passed the clipboard to Aionion. "You have two choices now, no three actually. Leave, stay and work here, or become part of our experimental mercenary program. You have two days to make your decision so there is no hurry." With his piece said, Malcom left Aionion to his thoughts.

**Time Skip (Two days after the choice was given)**

Aionion paced the floor for what felt like the thousanth time. He still couldn't make uo his mind. He wanted to leave, but the offers to stay were so tempting.

He turned back around as he neared the bed again, going for another pace. _Should I stay or should I go? If I leave, I lose my best chance for survival, but if I stay, I could be stuck here forever. Decisions, decisions..._

Aionion turned to the door as it opened. When the man walked in he had the clipboard and pen again but some paperwork was on it and some lined paper for.. communication he guessed.

Malcom shut the door behind him and turned to Aionion. "Good afternoon Aionion. I take it you thought long and hard about this? If you change your mind now, there is no going back. Plus, the girl you brought with you, she's staying. She also said her name was Síma."

That sold the deal for Aionion. If she stayed, he'd stay too. Malcom felt a little dirty for his trick. Síma would only stay if Aionion stayed. Aionion would only stay if Síma stayed. So he lied to both to get them both to stay.

Aionion noticed a brief flash of guilt flash across Malcolm's face, but dismissed it as coincidence. He would join them, but he didn't want to be a boring old employee. No, he would join their experimental program.

Aionion wrote his answer on the lined paper and Malcom took it back. He rearranged the papers and handed the correct ones to Aionion. Aionion spent an agonizing five minutes looking over the forms before signing them and handing them to Malcom.

Malcom looked back over the papers checking to make sure he signed in the right places,then put his own insignia where he was supposed to sign. Malcom then called in a nurse to deliver the papers to his office, where he would deal with them later.

For now though, Malcom would bring Aionion to his quarters in the experimental wing. It was a decently sized room, big enough for two people but clearly only meant for one person.

Aionion, having no materials to call his own, left the room bare as it was now. He'd decorate it later. He looked questioningly at Malcom who nodded and shuffled out the door, towards where there were obviously two people fighting with swords.

As he walked into the room, he took notice of the instructor teaching Sima. They were facing away from the door and Aionion couldn't tell if they were male or female. Sima had two small swords in her hands but she looked exhausted. They took a small break and Sima dropped to the floor, dragging the swords with her. Sima smiled at Aionion from where she lay.

**(A/N) Ooh a cliffhanger... Didn't plan on it but eh. Still need two scientists. Send me your best names and I'll give a shout-out to the people who sent in the names I liked the most. Síma will die at one part (T-T) but it is too move the plot along and bring Aionion to near silence.(heh, not that its too hard or anything) Leave me a r****eview with your suggestions, names, villains, anything really and I'll answer as best I can.**

**EDIT(4/9/15): I'm surprised no one has reviewed. I really want your support and/or flames because it helps me to refine my writing and lets you readers to get your own opinion in here. Leave a review and tell me stuff. PLEASE!**


	3. Unconscious Again

**A/N) Hey, ArkAngel here with chapter 3 of Team ASceND. High school and track make my updating schedule ridiculous, but I work on this story when I can. And the winner of the scientist names is Myself... I use a lot of the Greek language in here so if you don't agree with my word choice tell me. I'll put this chapter up then I have to go on hiatus for a few weeks until ECA's are done. Anyway, on with the story...**

As Sima lay on the floor, Aionion took the chance to finally get a good look at the instructors face. He looked like he just came out of the desert. He was dark skinned and tall, but not even reaching Aionion's ridiculous height. He stood at about six feet and a few inches but with all his muscles from probably wielding a sword all his life, he looked a little taller than that. The dark skinned man picked Sima up and moved her to a bench against the wall.

Aionion looked around at the large training facility. It seemed to be well-used and maintained despite there only being the three of them there. Aionion stopped looking around when the man walked over to the wall and threw a small sword at Aionion. Aionion ducked under it and stood back up with a swear ready for the man. "What the fuck! You could have killed me!"

The man chuckled then grabbed a large broadsword that was laying on the ground nearby. Aionion picked up the small sword and gave it a few practice swings. The man hefted the broadsword onto his shoulder as he said, "Well, come at me. I don't have all day."

Aionion rushed in like a madman, sword held upright, ready for a disabling downward strike. Then the man swung his sword like a baseball bat and nearly cleaved Aionion in half. Aionion slid under the swing and attempted to get inside the mans guard, where he could not use his sword effectively. It didn't work so well.

Aionion didn't expect the man to suddenly drop to one knee and throw him over his back. Aionion hit the wall, slid down it, but still got back up like the stubborn person he was. The man grinned, it seemed he had another reckless fighter to teach. Aionion ran back at the man but surprised him when he stopped, spun around, and nearly took the mans head off. Granted, Aionion fell, but it clearly surprised the man. _It seems I'll have to watch him more closely. He would have took my head with that swing_. Instead of dodging like he normally would, Eric, the dark skinned man, sent his own blade in a graceful arc to intercept it. It rebounded with a clang, but Aionion spun with it, coming back around for another cleave. Eric sidestepped the swing and brought his own towards Aionion. It nicked Aionion but he rolled with it, standing back up for another bout. Eric stopped him by saying,

"Alright, we are done with this spar. It seems you are slightly skilled with the blade. My name is Eric and I will be your teacher in weapons and armor. Your friend chose the two swords from the armory. Come choose your own and we will spar with the new weapons. Come, it is just around the corner."

It wasn't around the corner. It was around the corner, down a hallway, down another hallway, and then around another corner. And instead of the small little forge Aionion expected, it was a large area full of people forging, reforging, and reshaping metal.

As Aionion walked into the room, crashing, cursing, and hammering struck him. He walked further into the room to see a wall of weapons. There was everything from scythe to axes that had blunderbusses in them. All were of different size, weight, and metal. Aionion grabbed a few weapons off the wall and gave them a few test swings. None of them fitted him and he was beginning to get frustrated. Then what looked like a scrap piece wedged under a large chunk of sheet metal caught his eye.

Aionion walked over to the scrap heap and got a firm grip on it. Aionion grabbed the long shaft and pulled it out of the heap. When he had reached six and a half feet, a curved blade slid into view. He followed the blade until he reached the unfinished end of the scythe. It was an amazing show of talent but why was it left unfinished? He thought the scythe looked fine. Maybe a little too much decoration, but the blade was sharp and functional...

Aionion brought the scythe back over to Eric. Eric looked at the blade, rolled his eyes, then looked back as Aionion began to swing the scythe. It all flowed elegantly together until Aionion tried to swing it around and it hit him in the head. Hard.

"Gahhh!" Eric shook his head at Aionion's antics. He was surprised at the kids sufficiency with the scythe, until he brained himself on it... Eric sighed and picked Aionion back up and dragged him to the infirmary, for the third time that week that is. Eric shook his head and chuckled as many people passing by stopped to watch him carry his limp body down the hall.

Once they were at the infirmary, Eric unceremoniously dumped Aionion onto the closest bed he could. Aionion groaned but he didn't wake up. Eric left the room and walked back to the forge room to finish the scythe. He needed to brush up on his metalworking anyway...

**Later that day, in the infirmary...**

Aionion groaned as fully awoke and put a hand on the bed to steady himself as he prepared to sit up. It seemed that he was back in the hospital again... He really needed to stop ending up here.

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as Malcom walked into the door. Malcom pulled up a chair to Aionion's bed and waited for Aionion to fully wake up. When it seemed like Aionion was completely awake he began, "Why does it seem like every time we meet, you are injured Aionion? Just yesterday you fell unconscious and this time you knocked yourself out by messing with a weapon you have no experience with."

Aionion glared hard at him but it didn't faze Malcom at all. Malcom chuckled as he continued, "This is why we are going to get you some armor of your choice. We have several experts in armor-making on hand for any ideas you come up with. Follow me and we'll get started."

Aionion followed Malcom as Malcom walked from the room going to a new wing that Aionion hadn't been to yet. There was a steel door that sealed the room, but there was a hissing noise that assured him that fresh air was being pushed into the room. The air smelt like soot and hissing and hammering was heard from inside, much like the forge area. The door slid open with a quiet hiss, and Malcom walked into the room. Aionion followed Malcom in, and saw...

**I would end it here...BUT...kinda gotta finish it...**

Well, there wasn't much to see. There were just two guys sitting on swiveling chairs absently twirling their pencils and staring blankly at a computer screen. The screen showed a large mechanical arm going back and forth over a large piece of metal. There was a large glass wall that had the same arm going through the same motions on the same sheet of metal.

Malcom turned back to Aionion, "On the wall behind me is a terminal you can use to design your armor. You can come here as much as you like to refine and redesign your personal armor. Well, I'll leave you to it." With his part spoken, Malcom left the small room.

Aionion walked up to the terminal and began to design his armor...


	4. Firsts

**So we are going to try a new style of writing. We are going to attempt to do flashbacks and a little bit of romance for you sick people who like love and stuff... And for you heartless bastards who want grief and loss(I am one if these people, unfortunately), we have that for you as well. Anyway, on with the story...**

Today was the day of their first mission. Aionion sat in a small chair usually reserved for the copilot and was looking out the window. The helicopter, the only thing fast enough to get them there on time because all of the others had left already. It was rattling as it flew but Aionion passed it off as turbulence.

Aionion was full to capacity on adrenaline and was restlessly bouncing his collapsible scythe on his knee. He had worked hard to finish it and now it was better than ever.

**Flashback, One month ago...**

_"Hey Aionion, wait up!" Sima shouted as she ran down the hallway. She was excited because today they were allowed to make their own weapons. She wanted to make some trench knives, which would allow her to fight with her fists and two blades. She also wanted to add Uzis to them for more versatility. _

_She was bouncing on her toes and appeared to skip down the hall only to turn and smile back at Aionion as he jogged to keep up with her. _

_Now, Aionion couldn't smile but he could give the impression of it. His face twitched in a way that could be seen as smiling but if you didn't know it, you'd miss it._

_When they reached the forge area,a wave of heat washed over them, much like the wave of excitement passed through them when they created their armor. _

_Síma had, as usual, gone with a modest outfit that still left little to the imagination. It was basically leather that was held together with tempered steel bolts. It covered all the vital organs but still left her stomach, legs, and arms wide open. With her flexibility, that would not be an issue._

_Aionion designed a more, how should we say it...complex armor._

_It started with a form fitting black body suit. It wasn't skin-tight, but clearly showed off his muscular figure. Then armor was iridium plates that were attached to the cloth with some mesh armor. It covered some of his chest, the outside of his thighs, his shins, his wrists, and his shoulders. He had a helmet that he was working on, but the visor just wouldn't match what he wanted._

_He had left the helmet at the forge so he could work on it in his spare time. It wasn't a lot, but training to not cut yourself in half with your weapon was way more important at the moment. _

_He had been improving the scythe, little by little, until it collapsed, had a sniper rifle attached, and the blade would turn to make it a halberd. It was incredibly complex, but that made it all the more fun for Aionion._

_Síma had created her own weapons too. She had two trench knives that became Uzi's if the blades were flipped down. It was cruel, yet effective way of butchering people and Grimm._

_They often sparred over the next three weeks and were now on the level of Eric in their weapons but they had no combat experience. _

_So they were ecstatic when they received a call to go to Malcolm's office for a mission. They were to guard an incoming shipment of Dust and supplies until a cargo plane could be sent to retrieve it._

**Flashback over**

The helicopter shook again as winds buffeted it and Aionion grabbed the seat to steady himself. What he wasn't expecting was to be thrown the opposite way and fell out of his seat.

He cursed and settled back in his seat as yet another wind shook the aircraft. When they took the mission, they expected some grandiose jet to be waiting to take them to the drop point. Sima was the leader of this mission as well, Aionion thought bitterly.

The pilot spoke over the two-way radio they had in their headset. "We'll get there soon you two. Just calm down and you'll be on the ground in no time. We'll be at the mark in twenty minutes so buckle down for them." The pilot chuckled as Síma's already sickly green face became steadily greener ad the choppy flight went on.

So twenty minutes later, as the pilot promised, Síma dived out the door and took a few moments to kiss the ground. Aionion took those few moments to look over the surrounding landscape.

A small forested area to the north and west, mountains to the east, and a small river to the south. The cargo was in large crates stacked in the middle of the clearing. It was the perfect area for a secure trade and an even better area for an ambush.

Aionion's grip tightened on his scythe at every sound that echoed through the area. He had the terrible feeling of being watched and looked towards the forest. He only caught sight of small packs of Beowolves and the occasional Ursa.

Aionion turned back to the cargo that was stacked nearby. It had been dropped off two hours prior and still no planes had come to get it.

He had a sneaking suspicion that the plane had been delayed and that the people who did it were nearby. He got his answer when six people suddenly appeared in his field of vision. All had black suits with red ties on except for one. He had a bowler hat and a cane that looked more decorative than functional. His white coat hung passed his waist and he had a cigar sticking out of his mouth.

The men in black and red outfits pulled red swords from their belts at the signal the bowler hatted man gave. He looked to be extremely cocky and this was proven when he spoke.

"Ah! It seems we have two children who want to play grown up. Yes, we would love to stay and play pretend but we're on a tight schedule here." He gave a small wave after he said that. "Move aside from the boxes and no one gets hurt."

When Aionion and Síma hadn't moved, he gestured to his men. "I guess we'll have to do this the hard way then. Get them." The henchmen soon followed orders and rushed at the children. They didn't realize that the two children could kick their ass to the broken moon and back.

And so they did. They beat back the henchmen but another five came back as soon as they did.

Soon they became tired of the repeated waves of henchmen. They started to push through but we're stopped when the bowler hat man pushed and shoved his way to them.

They faced each other for a minute. Síma, always the impatient one, rushed at him, trench knives drawn back for a crushing punch. The man gracefully ducked under the swing and rapped her back with his cane. It sent her into the pile of crates they were supposed to guard.

Now Aionion was a peaceful giant, prefering peace to violence but hurting his only friend was where he drew the line.

Aionion threw everything he had into his barrage of swings. But no matter how hard he swung, nor how many swings he made, he still could not get a heavy hit on him. Sure, he cut him a few times, but the mans aura quickly healed those up. By now the man had called for backup as a giant plane came down and latched onto a few crates.

This uncovered Síma's bruised body and Aionion flew into a rage that he unleashed on the man. Yet still, the man continued to avoid the scythe.

Then Síma shakily got up and moved towards Aionion. When she got there the plane had already grabbed another two crates and the man had gotten on top of the two. When Síma fell onto him, Aionion dropped his scythe to catch her.

The bowler hat man had raised his cane and pointed it at the two. "Sorry you two, but I gotta interrupt this little touchy feely moment of yours." At this the man's cane's end popped open revealing a sight and a gun barrel.

The shot fired and Aionion tried his best to cover Síma's body with his own but the bullet was a dust round and exploded on impact, leaving a gaping hole where her right lung used to be. Aionion had taken the bullet into his stomach but all of the dust had exploded on impact.

As blood poured from their wounds, the cargo plane finally arrived. Aionion tried his best to staunch the blood flow but the hole was too large and he knew she couldn't be saved.

Before she was placed in the plane though, she stretched her hand out to Aionion. Aionion was at her side in a second and ready to do whatever it was she asked of him.

"Please do not blame yourself." It wasn't a request, it was a demand. "It was -cough- it was my fault for being so reckless." She took a few moments to cough and wheeze as she prepared to finish. "I-I-I," she paused to breath, "I really liked you. Don't -cough- forget me, but let me go enough that it doesn't- " she paused to cough horribly this time. She didn't have long to live now. It seemed the only thing keeping her going was finishing this. "Doesn't affect who you are. Please Aionion, do this last thing for me." She tried to smile at Aionion but it came out more of a grimace. Sima gestured for him to get closer to her. When he was within reach, she leaned up and kissed him. It was a one sided kiss, but it meant the world to both of them.

Aionion had closed his eyes during the kiss and when he opened them, he knew she was gone. She had done what she needed to and then she left. His eyes watered and he left her still body behind.

Aionion wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and left the back of the cargo plane. He went and sat against one of the crates that survived the encounter. He would never let someone get so close to him ever again, because it hurt even worse when they left.

Aionion really hated that man, no, he hated that mans very existence. Aionion wanted blood, and blood Aionion would get.

**Sorry about the kinda rushed ending.. I'm not a person who's really into the romance stuff and I don't really know what I can do to make it better. If you have any suggestions, pm me or leave a review with them. I'll reply in the next chapter. Next chapter will feature the White Fang and their base.**


	5. The Morning After and The Hunt Begins

**Hey I'm back with another chapter of Team ASeND. This chapter will feature grief, grief-fueled violence, mystery, and other depressing things. Without further ado, on with the story...**

**In Aionion's personal quarters... A few hours after Aionion's first mission...**

The bed creaked and moaned as Aionion sat on it. He hadn't taken off his armor yet, but he was still in a daze about the whole thing. One minute she was there, the next she was gone...

Aionion still hadn't written a report on the mission but Malcom insisted on it. Aionion picked up the paper and pen on his desk and began writing the mission report.

_Once the pilot had dropped us at the area the cargo was at, we stood guard for three hours before the bowler hatted man appeared. We immediately reached for our weapons and prepared to fight the goons he brought with him. Sima rushed at the man but was threw into the remaining crates with a single swing of the mans cane. I lost her position until a cargo plane grabbed two crates and flew off, revealing her bruised body. _

_She stood back up and staggered over to me, while another plane grabbed two more crates. By the time she reached me, the man was standing on top with his cane pointed at us. I had dropped my scythe to catch her so I had no way to protect us from the dust round he shot at us. The man flew off as I covered her body as best I could with my own. The round pierced my armor and entered my stomach but the explosives reacted on impact and, _there was a tear drop on the next few words, _the the explosion hit the left side of her chest, taking her life with it._

He could not write anymore so he tossed it back onto the desk and stripped his armor off. He unzipped the zipper in the back of the suit under all the armor and then lay it down on the desk. The desk creaked under its weight but Aionion was too busy laying back on the bed to care. The last thought to cross his mind before be fell asleep was, _I hope I wake up and this is all a dream._

**White Fang hideout, Vale**

Roman looked back at Cinder as if he hadn't heard right. They were moving? What about all the dust he had acquired? What was this Phase 2? Cinder, as if reading his mind, said, "You'll know what you need to know, when you need to know."

Roman looked around again at all of the dust. They would have to leave it behind to move to the next base of operations. Roman sighed and looked around at the White Fang members. "Well? You heard her pack what you can and blow up the rest."

Roman left the building as the explosions went on behind him. He pulled his cigar from his pocket and lit it. He released a puff of smoke and continued walking, even as more explosions went on behind him.

**Aionion's personal quarters, early the next day...**

Aionion woke to the loud hammering of a large fist on a metal door. He immediately grabbed his scythe off the floor and took aim at the door. When he was assured he was in no immediate danger, he collapsed the scythe blade and staff to make it a hand ax. With ax in hand, he opened the door to see one of Malcom's aides waiting. The aide paled at the scythes small form and gulped audibly, but still shakily told him, "P-please report to Malcom's office for d-debriefing."

The aide swiftly fled down the hall after passing on the message. Aionion stepped back from the door and shut it. He grabbed his armor and scythe and swiftly got dressed.

Stepping out of his personal quarters, Aionion began walking to Malcom's office. He was just passing through the cafeteria when he overheard one of the newer recruits talking about his and Sima's first mission. They all laughed at the next comment someone made, "I hope that teaches them to not go out without proper training and weapons." The laughter rose into an uproar of noise.

The next comment got under Aionion's skin. "I heard she was knocked out immediately. What a weakling..." Aionion stood still for a moment to try to calm himself. "Hey! Look its the freak that tried to protect her!"

Aionion stood still no longer. With a menacing glare at them, he took his scythe that was folded up off his hip and unfolded it into the weapon of mass murder that it was. There was silence for a few moments, until one of them decided to continue the mocking. "Look at him! All big and bad now that he has his scythe. I'm soooooo scared."

Aionion lunged at him and attempted to split him down the middle with his scythe in a downward slash. The minute man, compared to Aionion, had brought out his own weapon, a broadsword that had one of the longest blades Aionion had ever seen. That wasn't saying much, but maybe the man was compensating for something he didn't have...

The man held his sword in an overhead block, showing great strength. Strength didn't matter in a battle of wills. Aionion had the upper hand in the battle, even without his semblance. So with a grinding of blades, Aionion spun around, creating sparks as the two blades rushed passed each other.

Aionion had just unlocked his hidden semblance, one that would shake the very ground he stood on. Suddenly, he felt as light as air and his slashes became much faster. It was like gravity wasn't affecting him anymore.

Aionion brought the blunt end of his sythe back around in an impressive show of skill. This caught the man off guard and launched him into the wall. He was back on his feet immediately but didn't expect Aionion to suddenly cannon off the far wall and dive straight at him. Aionion had one fist brought back for a hay maker and another slightly behind for a follow-up punch.

The man ducked under the first punch but never saw the next one coming. Aionion had brought it up in a devastating uppercut, causing the man to cough up a small amount of blood. Aionion capitalized on this and grabbed the mans chest plate. With Aionion completely focused on sending him through the wall, his semblance obeyed and lessened the amount of gravity on his arm. Without the added weight of his armor and body, Aionion easily threw the man through the wall and into a coma.

Aionion stepped out of the small crater he had created and resumed walking to Malcom's office. The whole ordeal had taken 36 seconds. It almost seemed unreal to any who witnessed it.

**Malcom's office, before the fight ended...**

Malcom and his aid sat in front of his computer screen and watched as Aionion unleashed his full anger on the people in the cafeteria. They both flinched at the raw damage Aionion did with just his hands. There were slash marks up and down the floor, craters in the wall where the man landed, and a large section of wall was gone with a crater behind it.

Malcom shut the window down just as the man responsible for the destruction of the cafeteria walked into the room. Aionion was covered in soot and dust, but no physical wounds stood out to Malcom. Aionion had destroyed his report on his mission but decided he didn't give a shit.

Malcom took one long look at him. "Why are you in here if you don't have the report? I specifically asked for it." Aionion shrugged and sank into his thoughts. _If only he knew what went on just a few minutes ago. He would change his tone then._

Malcom had given up on getting Aionion to turn in the report. He just sighed and said, "Very well, you may go. Report here in a week for your next mission.

**Time skip, one week...**

Aionion casually walked into the room after scaring the shit out of the newer recruits. He popped his neck and his back as he sat in the chair placed in front of Malcom's desk. Malcom just silently slid a mission report over the table and resumed typing on his computer. Aionion wordlessly stood up and left the room, taking the folder with him.

His armor thudded as he walked through the halls, alerting all to the person of mass destruction coming down the hall. The people scattered like rats, having heard of the damage Aionion could do to you and the area around you.

Aionion inwardly sighed. _Do they think I always go all rage monster around people? For Christ's sake, get a grip on yourselves._ Aionion continued to his room, footsteps thudding all the way.

Inside his room, he opened the folder and a bright orange sticky note fell out of it. It read, _This relates to the man who killed Sima. Do not lose yourself on this mission. _Aionion crumpled the note into a ball and threw it at the wall.

Nevertheless, he reopened the folder and pulled the mission charter out. It read, _Last week, authorities were alerted to explosions going on from a warehouse near the docks in Vale. Go to the site, coordinates included inside, and look for any clues on where they have gone. It's a long shot, but there may be a clue on their current position._

Aionion pulled the slip of paper with the coordinates from the folder. The warehouse was located at 40 W, 22 N. Aionion grabbed his helmet from where it lay on the floor and became the monster everyone feared at this facility. Aionion strode out of the room, his helmet blocking the others view inside, and made his way to the hangar.

Once there, Aionion handed the slip of paper the coordinates were on to the pilot, sat on the edge of the plane, and waited for the pilot to start the plane.

**Chapter five done. Don't worry, I won't just end the story at Sima's death. I have a lot more planned for Aionion then that. *insert favorite evil laugh* This is just the first book of a trilogy, featuring Aionion and the other characters to come.**

**Edit 5/8/15- thanks bhark3 for the save.**


	6. The First Clue

**How's everyone doing? Tell me what you think should be changed or added. ****Thanks to bhark3 for notifying me about my summary. Other than that, on with the story!**

The plane shook and rattled as it lifted off the ground. Then the pilot maneuvered the plane towards the entrance. The plane rumbled as the thrusters started and the pilot and Aionion left the hangar.

As they arrived near the coordinates, Aionion could see the incompetent police looking around the area, looking for obvious clues. Aionion shook his head at their stupidity.

As the plane neared the ground, Aionion stood from the edge and jumped to the ground, landing in the classic hero pose, on one knee with a fist planted in the ground. This created small cracks that spread around him.

_Badass entrance? Check.  
Trouble with the police? Check that as well..._

The pilot flew off and Aionion was left to deal with the police. Not very easy when you have a scythe, folded up or not, strapped to your hip.

The police had theirs guns trained on him when they heard him hit the ground. _Oh...now that they have their guns out they're all big and bad now. Let me show them how it's done._

Aionion unfolded his scythe, spun it around his back, and slammed it point first into the ground. It cleanly slid the first seven inches in, then came to a stop halfway up the blade. When the police saw this, their guns shook slightly and Aionion wanted to smile.

Aionion pulled his scythe from the ground and flicked it to rid it of the rubble and dust on it. The man in charge, Aionion assumed, walked to Aionion with his hand on his holster ready to pull his gun out.

He asked, "Why are you here? This is a police investigation and you are trespassing. Leave the premises or we'll be forced to arrest you." Aionion blinked and a keyboard appeared. He took a moment to type his message on his visor before playing it through the microphone in a neutral male voice. "I am here to find the direction they flew to. My employer has been looking for these people for a while."

The police officer grumbled but allowed Aionion to begin his search. Then he shouted, "Hey! Don't go in that warehouse, it's structurally unsafe!" Aionion ignored him and continued walking into the building.

Aionion looked around the area and noted the scorch marks along the walls and the clear shape of a plane picked out in the marks. The plane shape was stretched out to the back of the warehouse and led to a sealed door. Aionion looked around for a control panel to open the door but found none.

Aionion returned to the door and unfolded his scythe. He slashed three times and a large piece of the door fell. Aionion stepped over the pieces of the door and observed the skid marks that went from the door towards the southeast.

Aionion blinked and brought up the icons that his HUD stored. He activated the icon at the bottom left side. It flashed twice and Aionion removed the icons from the visor.

Twenty minutes later, the plane arrived back at the airfield. The pilot came upon the sight of Aionion and the police officers playing a large game of poker. Aionion had the largest stack of money by far, and he was slouching like he was bored.

When Aionion noticed the plane, he gathered up his new-found money and strode to the plane. He jumped into the open cargo hold and stood at the edge as they flew off. As they disappeared into the clouds, the pilot called him up to the cockpit.

The pilot was smirking at Aionion when Aionion arrived. "I saw you loosen their bowels a bit before I left. I leave for two hours and you're playing cards with them and taking all of their money." He chuckled and resumed flying.

**48 minutes later, inside Malcom's office...**

Aionion sat down in the straight-backed chair across from Malcom. Malcom had some lined paper and a pen for communication and Aionion had his mission report written but one of the edges looked singed.

Malcom noticed the paper and huffed but slid the paper and pen to Aionion. "Explain, paper first, then the mission." Aionion began writing in his terrible handwriting, which Malcom made a note to fix later, and passed the paper to Malcom when he was finished.

_Minor disturbance about some new kids. Thought they were the top dogs. I knocked them down a few pegs. As for the mission, no enemies found, but they were flying off towards the southeast._

Malcom straightened in his chair, as he had leaned forward to read the note. This just kept getting better and better...

"Alright, now, instead of sending you after them, you are going to take care of a problem that keeps cropping up. The dust shipments we get are being stolen and it is obviously foul-play if the dead guards and scorch marks are any indication. Just go to the next shipment and get it here safely."

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. The interrupter entered the room and sat in the chair next to Aionion. "Aionion please leave." Aionion, understanding that some things were best kept from others, began to stand from his chair.

"Aionion before you go, take this folder. It has all that you need for this assignment." Aionion caught the folder after Malcom threw it at him and Aionion left to go read it over. Before he left though, he caught the sight of the mans white hair as the door closed.

Aionion had read the folders contents and still didn't know what he could do to stop the robbery. Sure, he had his semblance, and sure he was one of the best reapers there, but he still didn't know this persons fighting style. It seemed like they used fire quite a bit, maybe a semblance, maybe a lot of dust crystals. None of it added up to what Aionion needed. There was too many what-ifs and variables that could change this situation.

Aionion mentally sighed and looked at the time he had to be ready to move. The shipment was coming in the day after tomorrow. So he had two days to train and prepare for this fight. Aionion just hoped his weapons and semblance would be enough. Tired of arguing with himself, Aionion lay back and fell asleep.

The next morning saw Aionion sitting on the roof training with his semblance. He didn't have his armor on, just the mesh suit that went on underneath. He was adjusting the gravity around him and trying to balance himself. It hadn't worked out so well the first few times. He had either took off too much and launched himself skyward or put so much he slammed his head on the ground.

Aionion was getting tired and lay back to get a rest. After a few moments of resting, Aionion sat back up and attempted to lift just himself off the ground again. Aionion finally had it right, when a bird nearby squawked and Aionion lost his concentration and hit his head again.

Aionion picked up a small rock nearby and used his semblance to hit the bird faster than it could fly away. This gave Aionion an idea, instead of lifting one object, lift as many as possible. So Aionion spent the next few moments gathering small rocks that were on the roof. He set them a few inches from each other and tried to lift them all at once. The rocks lifted but shook and fell down quickly. Aionion tried again and again until a young woman arrived on the roof.

She sat down on the edge near Aionion and he noticed the air change directions and blow towards her. When the girl finally noticed Aionion, she looked at him intensely before moving closer. The girl got close to Aionion and Aionion could almost smell the jasmine perfume she wore.

She looked at him for a moment more."My name's Kate, what's yours?" Aionion couldn't reply and so didn't. "Hey don't you understand English? What's your name?" Aionion finally turned to face her and her mouth dropped to the floor. "Erm... I'm sorry, I-I thought you could talk for a moment." She finally realized she was staring at the man who could destroy an entire building with the semblance he had. The thought of that shut her up and she backed away from Aionion.

Aionion turned back to the rocks in front of him and began to try to lift them all at once. Again they rose and fell quickly. Kate looked over and decided to help him. "Hey, you're doing it wrong. Lift them one at a time and when you have it work on the next. You can also do a hand motion to help. Try raising your hand."

Aionion did as she said and raised his hand and the first four rocks lifted off the ground and stayed there. Aionion focused on the next rock and it slowly lifted off the ground to join the others. Aionion did this with the next two and began on the third one when his concentration broke and all of the rocks fell to the roof again.

By now it was dark and Aionion had to prepare to watch over the shipment tomorrow afternoon. Aionion set the rocks into a corner of the roof and went back inside the complex. Kate had already went back inside so he was alone with his thoughts for a few moments. Aionion continued walking back to his room which was on the far side of the complex. While he walked he noticed that there was no one in the halls and it was disturbingly quiet. Thinking they were being attacked, Aionion grabbed his scythe and unfolded it then refolded it into an ax.

He continued on his way but jumped at every slight sound he heard. Only when he got to his room did he notice the time. It was past three in the morning. Aionion had been on the roof for a little under a day. Aionion folded his scythe back up and put it with his armor. Aionion lay down on his bed to catch the few hours of sleep that he could.


	7. A Deadly Duet

**HEYO! How's it going? Just me with the next chapter of Team ASceND. Now, for the thing you've all been waiting for...drumroll please...on with the story!**

**Aionion's room, 8:17 am**

Aionion slowly sat up in his bed after his short rest. He left the room to wash the grime and sweat of yesterday off of him. Dry, refreshed, and dressed in his black mesh suit, no armor at the moment, Aionion left for breakfast. There were small groups of people at most tables but they seemed to be avoiding a particular person.

The person in question, had a more stylish preference of armor than most. It was more of a cloak with armor underneath. The man carried two hand scythes, each about a third of the size of Aionion's. They gave off a dark feeling and the skeletal hand holding it all together didn't help any.

Aionion began to walk over to the ostracized man. The man, as if noticing him coming, turned slightly to watch who was approaching him. Now Aionion could see his face. It was a maze of scars that only added more to his scare factor. He was of a darker skin tone than Aionion, that's not saying a lot, but still resembled a corpse back from the dead. His hollow cheeks and leathery skin slightly disturbed Aionion.

Aionion ignored his brain telling him to run away and continued towards the man. When Aionion was within a few feet of him, the man finally spoke in what sounded like two voices overlapped. There was the twenty year old voice that Aionion expected but it was overshadowed by a deep, demonic-sounding voice. "Go away. I have no use for a weak greenie." Aionion was taken aback by what he said.

Aionion walked in front of the man and held out his hand for shaking. Then man shook it but said, "My name is Dantos and judging from your lack of a mouth, you are mute. I heard about the fights you've been in. Seen a few of them too. I really enjoyed when you destroyed this cafeteria. I've never felt such intent to harm..."

Now he was starting to creep Aionion out. But, Aionion sat down across from where he assumed Dantos was sitting. After a quiet four minutes of eating, Dantos stood from where he sat and said, "Come on. I wanna see how good you are with that scythe." Aionion grabbed his scroll and typed on it. He handed it to Dantos when he was finished.

_I cannot spar today. I have a mission that has to be taken care of soon. Maybe we can spar tomorrow._

Needless to say, Dantos was pretty disappointed. Then he came up with the brilliant, in his mind, idea to follow Aionion and fight with him to help him pass the time. So when Aionion left to put on his armor, Dantos hurried after him and waited for Aionion to leave for the mission.

Twenty minutes later, Aionion walked out of his room, fully decked out in armor. He had extra ammo clips clipped onto his belt and some flash grenades on it too. It looked like he was expecting a tough battle.

And so Dantos followed Aionion throughout the complex. He knew that Aionion knew he was there. Dantos wasn't trying to be unseen but he doubted he'd avoid Aionion knowing he was there. So he just discreetly followed him down to the hangar. Aionion hopped onto a plane and left a few feet of room for Dantos to get on.

Dantos sat next to Aionion and neither said a word until they were at the ship that the cargo was on. Both jumped off of the ship and then they began the long wait for the thief.

To pass the time, Dantos pulled a deck of poker cards from his cloak and began to set up the game. Aionion recognizing the setup, sat down to play.

**3 hours later...**

_How can he be this good?! There's no way that he's won every hand since we've started! He has to be cheating! But how?..._

Dantos folded again and threw his cards down in disgust. He had lost a good deal of money to Aionion without even realizing how much he'd lost. Dantos stood from where he was sitting and drew his dual hand scythes. "Come on Aionion," Aionion had written his name in some dust for Dantos. "Why don't we spar to pass the time." Aionion nodded and drew his scythe.

Before they began though, both spent a few minutes loading their guns. Dantos fed shotgun shells into his two pistols and Aionion put a fresh clip in the magazine of the scythe. Aionion spent a few minutes scraping a circle into the dust for use as a boundary. When he was finished, Aionion stood on the opposite side of Dantos, who was crouched and had his scythes at his sides. Aionion drew his scythe and held it low at his side.

Both held in a breath and when a piece of paper flew in-between them, both leaped at the other to get the first hit. Aionion swung up and Dantos swung his scythes down. They met in a fury of sparks, clanks, and grunts. After a few seconds of striking and countering, both leaped back and took assessment of the damage. Aionion had a few scratches in his armor but nothing deep. Dantos had a few small cuts on his shins from when he tried to use his cloak to hide his scythe and Aionion swung low.

Dantos, wounds already healing with his aura, said, "Why don't we just have a shooting contest to pass the time. I'll set up the targets and we'll see who can hit the most." Dantos jumped on a crate a few meters away and started lining up bottles he'd found nearby. With about five lined up, Dantos came back to Aionion who had his scythe blade folded down and the sight raised up. Aionion had set a small wooden box as a table and laid his weapon on it.

Aionion looked through the scope and lined up the cross-hairs with the first bottle. Accompanied by a slight click the first bottle shattered with the tinkling of glass. Aionion repeated this four more times before he leaned back. He stood and went to set up five more bottles for Dantos to shoot. As he got closer to the crate, he could see the bullets embedded in the crate behind it. Aionion set up the five bottles and returned to the impromptu table. Dantos raised his pistols and fired off three shots in quick repetition. Four of the five bottles shattered and Dantos fired a fourth shot to shatter the last one.

Just as both were reloading for the next round, they heard the unmistakable sound of a fist hitting a body. Then what sounded like a shotgun kicked in and they watched as a guard got impromptu flying lessons from whoever hit him. Aionion and Dantos hid in the shadows and waited for their adversary.

They were not disappointed when a large man who had to be at least six feet and at least two hundred pounds of pure muscle walked towards the guard. He had distinguished maroon hair that went down to his shoulder blades and his biceps were the size of Aionion's head. He reloaded his bracers and looked around, as if he knew we were there but not where.

"Show yourselves! I know you're here. I can feel the warmth of your bodies. Come out and fight like men." Even the mans voice sounded like it was on steroids. Dantos had frozen for a minute when he realized we'd been found then slunk around the crate he were hiding behind.

"The other one too. Abaddon knows you are there. Come out and play with me before I take all this dust." Well, the man spoke in third person. Great, another person who thought with their fists and not their mind.

Aionion stepped out from his hiding place, behind the crate the bottles were on. His scythe was unfolded and fully loaded, ready to fight. Aionion and Dantos stood together facing Abaddon when Dantos decided to make a terrible joke. "Boss Battle!"

His battle cry said, Dantos rushed in to strike Abaddon. Abaddon just backhanded Dantos and he would have hit a crate but he threw a chain Aionion had not seen attached to his scythe to swing back towards Abaddon. Aionion, not one to sit and wait, gripped his scythe tightly and rushed at Abaddon.

With both of them coming at different angles, Abaddon would have to split his attention and would react slower to their attacks. Aionion fired a few shots from his scythe to speed up and slid under the shotgun pointed at him, dragging his scythe to slow him down. Now behind the man, Aionion slashed his back but never made any deep cuts.

Dantos, coming on a swing, jumped from the chain and spun with drawing his scythes back. He drug his scythes through Abaddon's shoulders, momentarily making them useless. Dantos flipped off of Abaddon, pulling his scythes from his shoulders.

Abaddon spun around to face them but Aionion and Dantos were already gone. A few seconds later, Abaddon's shoulders healed and Dantos was stringing chains all over the area. Dantos and Aionion both grabbed a chain and swung down at Abaddon. Dantos re-cut Abaddon's shoulders and Aionion cut open his stomach.

Bleeding, but still able to fight, Abaddon roared and charged at the two reapers. Both fled and grabbed onto a chain. Aionion and Dantos looked at each other, nodded, and raced back at Abaddon with the chains in their hands. As they ran, Aionion threw a flashbang at Abaddon's feet. It blinded him and gave Aionion and Dantos the chance to tie his feet together. Dantos ran left and Aionion sprinted to the left.

They ran around Abaddon three times before coming to a stop in front of him. His hands and feet were tightly bound and Abaddon crashed to the ground, dying from blood loss. Aionion and Dantos both cleaned their weapons of blood on Abaddon's now ruined shirt and Aionion grabbed the mans bracers, to incorporate the design into his armor. Aionion took his helmet off, placed it on a nearby crate, and took a deep breath of the salty sea air.

Then Aionion realized that this was his first kill. He sprinted to the edge of the ship and gripped the railing along the edge. Dantos tsked and walked back to the area they were told to guard. When Aionion was finished panicking, he too walked back to finish the mission.

**Three hours later, Hangar area...**

Aionion jumped off the plane that returned him to the headquarters. He walked through the throngs of people heading back to their rooms and went into his. He took his helmet off and placed it on the desk he had. He took his armor off and changed into his black mesh suit. He layed down on the bed and began writing the required mission report...


	8. New Threads

**How's it going ladies and gents? Welcome back to another chapter of Team ASceND. Without further ado, on with the story...**

**Aionion's Room, 8:13..**

Aionion sat up from where he fell asleep on the bed. He turned and sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Aionion, after rubbing his eyes, stood and went to take a quick shower. After getting dressed in his armor, minus his helmet, he went down to the cafeteria for entertainment.

Once he had scared everyone there, Aionion walked down to where he designed his first armor and entered as the door slid open. He walked to the terminal he used before and looked over the designs on his armor. He began with adding the shotgun gauntlet technology to his bracers and boots. It took some creative editing, but he added it to both eventually.

Aionion waited an hour for his new armor pieces and began adding them to his arsenal. He felt like something was missing from his armory, but he didn't know what. Aionion shook his head and left the room the terminal was in. He backtracked to the cafeteria and made his way to the training area. It had a few new craters in it, but one of the older recruits was filling them in with liquid metal that quickly cooled. Aionion set up one of the training dummies in some of the grass that survived and jerked his elbows back, loading his gauntlets.

Aionion dashed towards the dummy and threw a single punch as hard as he could towards the dummy. The punch missed but the shotgun fired and peppered the dummy with the pellets. Aionion stepped back to assess the damage he did. The dummy was missing a large portion of its chest but was still standing.

Frustrated, Aionion ran at the dummy again and punched its chest this time. The dummy bent back but was blown away by the shotgun firing. Aionion inwardly grinned and set the dummy up again. This time he added three more dummies so that he was surrounded on four sides.

Aionion stood back in the middle of the dummies and noted their positioning. One was facing him, but slightly turned to the side. Another was facing him completely. The last two were behind him and in the same position as the first.

Aionion jerked his arms back and reloaded the bracers, preparing for practice. He crouched down and exploded forward with a left jab. The first dummy was blown away and Aionion dropped to the ground. Aionion spun on his right leg, doing a coffee grind.

This spun him towards the second dummy and fired the shotgun in his boots at it. It was torn apart but stayed standing. When Aionion stopped spinning, he was facing away from the last two dummies. Aionion rolled forward, putting some distance between him and the dummies.

Aionion spun around, crouching low and preparing to leap at the last two dummies. He dived at them, bringing his right fist back for a hook and brought his left fist low for an uppercut. Both punches hit the dummies and the wooden rods holding them up broke.

Aionion stood from where he was crouched, wiping the sweat from his head. He took the destroyed dummies and placed them in the barrel reserved for broken dummies. He grabbed a towel from the stack next to the exit and began wiping his head as he walked back to his room.

Aionion threw the towel in a hamper he had in his room and grabbed his helmet from the desk. He needed a new outfit that wouldn't get him arrested on sight because of the amount of weapons he had on him. He put his helmet on as he left the room, going towards Malcom's room.

As Aionion told Malcom his plan for the day, Malcom had a contemplative look. Malcom was silent for a few moments as he thought over what Aionion had told him. If Aionion had a separate outfit, he could blend in better and not be detected by the clunking of his armor on the ground. Malcom, who had been considering this, reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

He pulled his own personal card from his wallet and handed it to Aionion. "Be very careful with this. Spend no more than 2300 lien. Be back before nightfall." After getting permission, Aionion stood and walked to the door. Once he opened it, Malcom gave one last comment, "Happy shopping Aionion."

Aionion ran down to the hangar and hopped on the first plane he saw that was heading to Vale. When they arrived, forty-eight minutes later, Aionion realized the plane would drop him off at the opposite side of Vale. Aionion stood from the edge and jumped off the plane, much to the fright of the pilot.

Aionion free-fell for a few hundred feet, then spun so he was facing the ground. As the ground grew closer, Aionion prepared to use his semblance to stop his fall. Approaching the last few hundred feet, he used his semblance to stop fifty feet from the ground. Aionion slowly increased the gravity around him until he dropped the last eight feet and rolled to offset the force.

Aionion stood from the rooftop he was on, and looked around for the mall he had seen when he was falling. He saw it a couple of miles away and began running that direction. As he grew closer, he could feel the salt from the sea in the air.

A mile passed the mall, Aionion could clearly see the ocean and a ship that had just came in. As he watched, he saw a monkey faunus jump off the ship and begin to run from a pair of security officers. He saw a group of girls in varying colors chase after them. He ignored all this and began walking towards the mall.

Arriving on the roof opposite, Aionion jumped down, scaring quite a few civilians, and began to walk into the mall. He took off his helmet and clipped it onto his belt as the automatic doors opened for him. He went into a variety of stores but nothing caught his eye until he saw a weapons shop that sold armor as well.

When he walked in, he spotted Dantos in the corner looking at the new variation of Dust that had been made. Aionion, recognizing Dantos, walked to his only friend..

Dantos, again knowing someone was near him, turned towards Aionion. "Ah! This is where you went this morning. I was looking for ya."

"You're not much of a talker, are ya?" Dantos paused for a minute after he said this. "Oh, yeah. I forgot. My bad." Dantos deadpanned. Aionion glanced at him and looked away.

"So what are you here for?" Aionion gestured to the armor he was wearing. "Oh, right. Killer robot armor..."

"Alright, let's get you a less noticeable outfit." They proceeded to spend thirty minutes just looking at tops. Eventually, Aionion got tired of going through the racks and grabbed a black trench coat that had dark blue and gold accents.

The coat also had the pockets on the inside of the jacket but still had two at a comfortable height to rest his hands in. Aionion pulled a black shirt and black combat pants from the rack.

Aionion stood in front of the mirror and admired his new look. Dantos had disappeared back into the store and brought a pair of black shoes back that had dark blue accents on them.

Aionion pulled the boots on that miraculously fit him on the first try. He stood in front of the mirror but he didn't think he was done.

Dantos reappeared, silent and creepy as ever, and looked over Aionion with an appraising look. "I think you need to hide your face too." Aionion gave him a dead-eye look. "Sorry, wrong phrasing. What I meant, is that you can easily be picked out of a crowd." Aionion thought for a minute before nodding.

Aionion and Dantos brought the new outfit to the counter where the clerk sat, obviously bored. They paid for it and hurriedly left the store.

On the way out, Dantos spotted a pair of goggles that would cover a good portion of Aionion's face. He dragged Aionion into the store and grabbed the goggles and a dark blue face mask that covered from the nose down that he spotted on his way to the counter. They bought the two items and Aionion was thrown into a changing room by Dantos.

The clothes were thrown in after and hit Aionion in the head. Slightly blinded, Aionion fell and dropped all of the clothes on the ground. Internally swearing at Dantos, Aionion picked up his pride and the clothes and quickly changed.

Aionion stepped out, making Dantos whistle at the intimidating figure he cut in the badass outfit. Aionion rolled his eyes at the immaturity Dantos was showing. Still with the mask covering Aionion's lower face and the goggles covering the other half, Aionion looked relatively normal. Dantos, ever the joker, said, "Go on. Do a twirl for me." Aionion flipped Dantos off and walked back into the changing room to put his armor back on.

Exhausted for the day, the two friends began walking to the nearest airfield to hitch a ride back to base. Once they arrived, they split, Dantos to get a mission and Aionion to put his outfit up.

**And done. Sorry about the long delay in the chapter. Summer is busy for me so I kinda had to lay off for a bit. Working on adding a new character within the next few chapters, one that will add lots of dry humor to the table. Hue, hue, hue ,hue...**


	9. Cold and Out Cold

**A/N) Bit of a filler chapter. No real action except on the mission. Now you're wondering what mission. I've said too much, read to find out**

Aionion, after changing into his new set of clothes, began the walk to Malcom's office for a mission. On the way there, Aionion would walk right down the middle of the hall and the people would scatter. They knew who he was, even if he changed clothes. He was the tallest person in the entire building, how could you miss him?

This ostracism upset Aionion, but it was better than being hated. He ignored them the rest of the way and internally sighed once the door to Malcom's office shut. Remembering whose room he was in, Aionion stood and readjusted the cloth around his neck and face. Malcom looked up once from his desk to see who entered his office, but quickly returned to typing.

Aionion sat in the chair across from Malcom's desk and patiently waited for his next mission. Around six minutes of staring at a speck of dust on Malcom's desk, Malcom printed off a few papers and slid them across the table to Aionion. Aionion perused the documents before shutting them.

Aionion stood from his chair and left Malcom's office with the papers in hand. Aionion walked back to his room and grabbed the gauntlets of his metal suit. He slid them on underneath the coats sleeves and hid some extra rounds in the pockets that lined the inside of his coat. Aionion looked towards his scythe before shaking his head.

On a stealth mission like this, he couldn't carry large weapons. So he left his scythe on his bed, along with the rest of his armor. He turned to leave and shut the door behind him. He saw the man with the grey hair with a cane staring at his room in deep thought but thought nothing of it and went to the hangar.

He grabbed onto a ship as it took off and hitched a free ride to an airport in Vale. From there he switched to a ship that was heading towards Mistral.

It was a long journey, almost twelve hours, but Aionion had slept to save some energy for the long mission this posed. There were no leads, except for a small mentioning of a drug ring that was active there.

This didn't help Aionion much but it was better than nothing. As the plane was landing, Aionion was jolted from his sleep as the plane bounced. He looked outside the window he sat next to and saw that they had arrived. Aionion stood and almost fell after the plane came to a stop but kept himself grounded with his semblance.

Aionion stepped off the plane into the blistering sunlight that was Mistral. As his eyes adjusted, Aionion watched as people shivered, unused to the cold. Aionion was cold too, but he had been in a desert for a while. So he brushed off their misfortune and continued on his way. As Aionion left the airfields, he felt something cold and wet touch his face. He looked up and saw that small, white objects were falling on him. He tried to brush them away but they continued to pile up on his goggles and clothing.

One of the Mistralians who lived there noticed his plight and chuckled before saying, "You're not from around here are you? You've never seen snow before?! What did you live in a desert?"

The rapid fire questions threw Aionion off but he shook his head at the first two then nodded at the third. This in turn threw the native off but he shrugged it off and chuckled. The man chuckled once again before going on his merry way, to do whatever the people here did.

Despite the odd conversation, Aionion kept an eye out for any suspicious activity that could lead him to the drug ring. He hadn't seen any yet, but they could slip up at any time.

Aionion went to the nearest bar to eavesdrop on any conversations that might direct him to them. To blend in, Aionion bought the least alcoholic beverage they had and went to sit near the door.

Aionion spent half of the day in the bar but none of the individual conversations gave any hints. Just as Aionion was about to leave, two grown men slammed the door open and walked up to the bar.

The two began a quiet conversation and Aionion moved closer to the bar to eavesdrop.

"Where is Mikael? He should have been here twenty minutes ago." This intrigued Aionion and he slid closer to hear the conversation better.

"I don't know maybe he was forced to go outside and smoke. You know how much he likes to test the product before it's sold."

Aionion, having heard what he needed to, Aionion stood from his table and walked to the bar. He pretended to stumble and put his hands out to catch himself. He grabbed hold of the first man and attached a micro tracker onto his coat.

The man pushed him off and shouted, "Get off imbecile!" Aionion stumbled towards the old, wooden door and opened it without looking back.

Aionion left the bar and began the short walk to a nearby hotel. After entering his room he locked the door and grabbed the scroll he kept in his coat.

He inserted the data drive with the tracking system on it into the scroll. He opened the scroll and opened the tracking program. It showed a view of the terrain, white lanes that were streets, and a small blue dot that was moving.

Aionion had to hand it to the man. Anyone following him would have been lost with the unfamiliar streets, large crowds, and all the switchbacks the man made.

The man finally stopped two miles outside of the town. It was surrounded by woods so Aionion had to investigate manually. Aionion shut the scroll once he wrote down the coordinates the man stopped at.

Aionion took his coat off and laid it on a chair that was in the room with him. As Aionion laid down on the bed, he got a clearer look around him. There was the bathroom, a closet next to the door and across from the bathroom, a small desk with a chair and Aionion's coat, and the bed he lay on.

Aionion went to sleep but woke up late in the night. Curious, he rearranged his pillows into his form, grabbed his gauntlets that were on the desk, and hid in the closet.

The intruder paused hearing movement. When there was no more, they continued picking the lock. Once the door was unlocked, the would-be assassin pushed the door open and crept into the room.

Aionion, looking through the crack in between the doors, saw the glint of a knife as the assassin passed his hiding spot. The assassin paused at the bed and slowly rose from the crouch they were in.

They raised the knife over their head and brought it down upon the bed. When the knife felt no resistance, they stumbled and Aionion leapt from the closet and barreled down upon the hired assassin.

They hit the floor and the assassin released the knife upon impact with the floor. Aionion kicked the knife away but fell as the assassin spun on the floor and tripped Aionion. Aionion fell but spun so he could roll in case they had the knife.

As he rolled out of the way, the assassin landed after trying to axe kick him. Aionion stood back up and ran at the assassin. Aionion punched the assassin and their mask fell off revealing it to be a woman who tried to kill him.

The woman stood and ran at Aionion, determined to kill him. Aionion loaded the gauntlets and punched the assassin as she rushed at him. The shotgun fired, launching her with enough strength to crack the wall severely, but no enough to break completely through the armor she had.

She stood and grabbed the knife she conveniently landed next to and got into a defensive stance. Aionion ran at the woman and faked a punch and tackled her.

Their impact broke through the wall and they began the 30 foot fall to the bottom. Aionion, panicking and unable to use his semblance because he used so much to brace for the impacts, grabbed at multiple ledges that were nearby.

These attempts at saving himself just put more and more pressure on his left shoulder blade until it was hanging limply and useless as he fell.

Then Aionion looked down. There was a sharp, dark blue rock that glowed slightly that was speeding towards him. Aionion angled his body so his completely senseless left arm was at the rock.

Then he hit the rock and ground. Hard. Almost completely torn off, his shoulder hung limply by a small tendon. There was blood everywhere, and the rest of his body was in a deep crater.

Aionion watched as his vision began to fade to black even as people began to scream for help. He thought of Dantos, however weird their friendship was, he was someone he could call a friend. Kate, the ridiculously smart girl who helped him use his semblance. Eric, who taught him how to survive and fight.

Aionion finally passed out from blood loss, not noticing that the rock had attached itself to his arm and was forming itself into an arm, shoulder, and hand. This new appendage became more transparent then darkened into a dark blue.

The rapid changes in his arm caused Aionion to begin to sweat and his body was began to become hot to the touch. Aionion knew of none of this as he was still unconscious.


	10. The Mission Goes On

**Hey readers! Welcome back to another chapter of Team ASceND. The humor begins this chapter and the pawns begin to move into place. On with the story...**

Waking to the beeping of monitors that monitored his vitals, Aionion tensed when he fully realized where he was. Then he relaxes into the soft pillows that lay behind him on the bed.

'How the hell did I get here? I barely remember hitting the ground and then blacking out.'

'I could answer that for you host.'

'Who the fuck is that!? Why are there here!? Where are they!?'

'Jesus! Quiet down! You scream like a fucking seven year old girl. '

'Sorry... Who the hell are you then?'

'A more appropriate question would be what. I am a Crysilien. An alien species of intelligent crystal that boosts our hosts abilities and heals them when injured.'

'So you're a bandage with perks...'

'Do you call your left arm a bandage?'

Then he realized that his left arm was crystal, not flesh, and panicked and tried to rip the crystal off. It only caused him pain and then he noticed it covered his left shoulder as well. He pulled the hospital dress off and inspected his arm.

The crystal started at his finger tips and covered the entirety of his arm. He went to the bathroom and looked at the mirror that was on the wall and looked at his back. The crystal spread over his shoulder and stopped just above the end of his spine.

It also continued up his neck and stopped just short of his jawline except for a single piece that swept up his face and stopped just short of his nose and rose to the bottom of his eye ridge. Aionion traced the crystal that was on his cheek. It was cool to the touch and less slick than be thought it would be; it felt like a piece of dust that had been grinded down to a smooth, polished surface.

Then he noticed that his left eye wasn't silver anymore, it had became a dark blue that reminded him of the crystal. Upon closer inspection, the blue eye had white dots in it, spread thinly throughout the eye.

'What the.. What the hell is on me! Get it off!'

'I can no more remove it than remove your arm.'

'What do you mean? My arm is perfectly fi... You don't mean...'

'Yes, I replaced your arm. It is made entirely of myself and is resistant to most blades. You'll find it can also shoot projectiles if used correctly.'

'It isn't just for defence then? Can I still use the arm then?'

'Yes, you can still use the arm. You just can't use it yet. I still have to connect all the nerves then it'll be useful. Other than that, it's just a useless thing to weigh you down.'

'Why isn't it heavy then? If it's made of this crystal stuff, it should be really heavy.'

'Do you want to double the amount you weigh? Coupled with your armor, you weigh over a quarter of a ton already.'

'How did you know that? Only I know how much it weighs.'

'Did it ever occur to you to sort through your thoughts? If I can hear your thoughts, who says I can't look through your memories?'

'Ugh. Just the thought of you crawling around in there has my me gagging.'

'You think I like this? It's like looking through a fog that doesn't let you see the end of your nose.'

'Hey!'

'Shut up! Someone's coming! Quick, hide.' Heeding the warning, Aionion dived behind the bathroom door and prepared to grab the person that was about to open the slighlty noisy door.

The door swished and groaned as it opened and Aionion listened to the persons heels click on the cool ceramic tiles. He leapt from his hiding spot and roughly pinned the person to the wall with his elbow.

The nurse he had just pinned grabbed his arm and attempted to pry it from her throat. This was futile and her vision was beginning to blur. She made gurgling sounds as the last of her breath left her and then Aionion realized his mistake.

Aionion released her before she passed out and gently lowered her to the ground with his one good arm. She took large heavy breaths to get air back into her and had slumped against the wall.

Once she had gotten her breath back, she glared at Aionion while he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. She stood up, smacking away his hand as she did.

"What the hell was that for! You could have killed me!" Aionion looked at her with glazed eyes as he had a screaming match with the Crysilien.

'Fuck her!'

'No!'

'Let me fuck her then!'

'You don't even have a body!'

'Oh yeah!'

'Yeah!'

"Hey! Are you even listening to me! I told you you leave. Your stuff is in the lobby. We recovered what we could but your appliances were destroyed beyond repair." She left the room and the Crysilien had turned Aionion's head to look at her backside as she walked from the room.

Then she turned back around to tell him she'd bring him some clothes when she realized he was nude. She blushed terribly and rushed to get him a spare change of clothes.

When she returned, it was to the scene of Aionion looking out the window, back in the hospital gown. She was condiderably relieved and placed the clothes on the bed.

Aionion noticed she had left and turned to the bed that helf the clothes she left for him. Aionion slowly pulled on the blue long-sleeved shirt and black pants that were made of a material similar to his black fatigues. They were rough and uncomfortable, but he could deal with it for room

Aionion walked out of the room and wandered the halls until he found one of the directional signs that stated lobby. He followed the signs until he entered a room that took up more room than he thought was necessary. He crossed over to a strict looking woman who sat behind a large wooden desk.

He waited there nearly seven minutes before she looked up from her work. She looked at him strangely before he pushed up his sleeve and showed her the crystal arm.

She cringed and handed him his belongings and he went to change. Dressed in his comfortable clothes again, minus his torn cloak and face mask, Aionion set out to continue the mission.

**3 hours later, hidden entrance to hideout**

Aionion lay on top of a hill overlooking the small, almost unnoticeable entrance to the smuggler's den. He had his scythegun nearby in case anyone exited the cave. The blade was folded back and a silencer was placed on it, but otherwise, the scythegun looked the same.

He had a monocular pressed to his head and he was looking for any traps and or guards that were in place. Counting three traps but no visible guards, Aionion set off at a slight jog towards the entrance.

Nebula, as Aionion had found was its name, was keeping track of the traps but Aionion kept track as well because he didn't quite trust him yet. Not that Aionion had anything against him, but he was a slightly unlikable guy.

Aionion ignored the faint sarcastic remark of 'All I get is slightly!' and prepared for the shit to hit the fan.

The shit hit the fan as soon as he started. When he avoided the third and final trap, he neglected to see the wire above it which he slightly brushed against. This set off all three traps and alerted them to his approach.

Forgoing stealth, Aionion grabbed his scythegun and dashed into the den. The first three mercenaries he met were dealt with with a single swing of his scythegun. Another three rushed him and a fourth swung at him from behind. Aionion had no choice but to drop to his knees and spin, bringing his blade with him.

It blocked the sword from injuring him but it created a small nick in the middle of the shaft. He finished the spin, killing one of the three charging him and injuring the other two. Aionion reversed the swing and smashed the first man's head into the wall with the butt end of his scythegun.

The man went down and Aionion killed the other two as quick and efficiently as possible. Aionion continued on, not noticing the first man stand back up and give chase. He continued like this as he went, blocking one or two blows and delivering crippling or killing blows to the mercenaries.

When he came to the main chamber, he was soaked in the blood of thirty odd men that he had killed. The three men he had come to kill turned around. Two pulled out overly large swords, which Nebula commented on. 'I think they're making up for something they don't have.' The third pulled out two small swords. He held one in a reverse grip and the other normally.

Aionion noticed all of this in an instant and shut out the power by throwing his scythegun at them. Once they were plunged into darkness, Aionion dashed to his scythegun and spun around to block once he had a hold of it.

His scythegun broke in half and he froze as the blade continued on its deadly arc until he raised his left arm and the blade deflected off of it. This gave him the time to plan and grab his broken scythegun. He threw the shaft at the odd dual wielding swordsman. This caught him off guard and disoriented him.

That was enough for Aionion to rip his swords out of his hands and behead him with one of them. He spun and cross-blocked the other man who tried to bring a war hammer down on his head. Even with gravity lessening the force of the blow, when the man fired a rocket from the hammer, Aionion was nearly driven to his knees.

Aionion slid back along the floor and dived out of the way as a huge cleaver-like sword impacted where he was moments before. The blade carved through the ground like butter and Aionion and Nebula gulped in unison.

Aionion charged and was met by a hammer to the chest. He flew back and crashed into the first man who had just caught up. The man smashed back into the wall and slumped down, lifeless.

Aionion stood back up and imitated the stance the swordsman was in. His body was sideways to his opponents and his left foot was towards them. It was a poor imitation and Aionion used it to his advantage.

He waited for them to strike and reacted to each blow as it came. When the hammer came he would duck and try to slash his leg but always had to pull back to slide the cleaver to the side to avoid being bisected.

Now Aionion was tiring and the two had regrouped and both charged as one. Aionion rushed as well and jumped over the hammer swing but got a long cut down his leg. In return, he left a sword in the hammer wielder's heart and faced the cleaver wielding swordsman that he had nicked with his other sword.

It severely limited his power as he could only use one hand but he still swung it like it was nothing. Aionion and the man charged at one another. The man let out a battlecry and Nebula mimicked him.

The two swung their swords and Aionion was shocked to see his blade slide down the length of his blade and slash his chest open. Aionion's left arm took the blow and the blade glanced off.

The man toppled over and Aionion fell without the support of the bigger man's blade. Aionion lay on the ground to catch his breath then sat up to bandage his wounds. He bandaged his left and the various other small cuts he got and drank some water before he began setting charges to destroy the cave.

Aionion glanced over at his scythegun before grabbing the two blades and limping outside. Aionion had just gotten to the hill he had been on when the charges went off. Aionion had completed the mission so he left to get a plane back home.

Aionion spent the twelve hour flight getting his leg wound redressed and sleeping to conserve as much aura as he could.

Once Aionion was back at the headquarters, he sluggishly trudged to Malcoms room to hand in the mission and injury report. Malcom never even looked up, that is, until he saw an actual report on his desk and not an excuse for not having one.

He glanced up only to sigh at the state Aionion was in. He waved him on and went back to whatever he did all day. Nebula was silent for once, still going through the minefield Aionion called his memories.

Aionion tiredly ran into the wall just outside hisdoor then walked inside. He laid the swords near the desk and fell asleep on the bed, neglecting to change out of his clothes.


	11. Just a Slight Headache

**Less action packed chapter but plenty of foreshadowing. Aionion's rising in power too fast for his body to handle and the lid will fly off of that soon. Enough rambling, on with the story!**

Aionion woke in a cold sweat and internally grunted as he gripped his left arm in pain. It felt like boiling water was being forced through the veins in his arm and then it subsided. Aionion took the time to look around the room he was in.

The lights were off but Aionion could see quite fine in complete darkness. Just a perk of having a pain-causing space rock in place of your arm. His armor lay in a heap on the floor, forgotten for the time being. His destroyed cloak lay next to it in tatters, with large clusters of holes.

Then the pain came back and was all he could think about for a few moments. The pain gradually lessoned and he relaxed as much as he could before the next wave hit, staring at the ceiling. It continued in this pattern until morning came, and even then it was a sharp throbbing at the back of his head.

When breakfast came, Aionion was no where to be seen. So Dantos, the ever brilliant genius, walked straight to his room to check on him. And by straight, I mean he completely turned himself around and spent almost twenty minutes looking for it instead of the five it would have taken.

Dantos arrived to hear thumping and the groaning of the bed coming from the room. He stopped and stared blankly at the room before grinning and putting his ear to the door. Then he heard another thump and then the hiss of water and then a fist impacting the wall before a really loud crack was heard.

Dantos opened the door as fast as he could and rushed in to save his acquaintance from an assassin, only to see him clutching his arm and then his head. It was almost like he was trying to decide which of the two hurt worse.

Dantos grabbed his Scroll and called the infirmary to get to Aionion's room as fast as possible. They arrived within three minutes and began to check him over for any possible injuries. Finding none, they took him back to the infirmary to further examine him.

Dantos followed behind and arrived once they had connected a morphine drip to his arm. The pain looked to lessen, before he began to wrap his hands around his head. They grabbed his arms and strapped them to the bed before running final diagnostics on him.

They found that his Aura levels had spiked and weren't coming down anytime soon. They tried draining away his Aura but it replenished faster than they could drain it.

They could do nothing but watch as his Aura continued to wreak havoc on his body. Any and all attempts to help were pushed away when he began to stabilize.

It was still unnaturally high but it had lessened to where he would live through it. Probably. Hopefully...

**Three hours later, same room**

Aionion's Aura levels had almost dropped to half of what they were but they weren't lowering any more. It seemed whatever he had been exposed to on his last mission was effecting his Aura levels. Nothing else in his body makeup had changed but they hadn't gone down to the molecular level.

Now that his Aura had dropped, he almost looked peaceful as he lay on the bed. He was surrounded with wet rags that steamed on contact with his overheated skin. His breathing had returned to normal and the racing pace of his heart had dropped back to normal levels.

He was still affected by the morphine they had given him, and it was unlikely for him to wake up this evening. So Dantos waited, coming and going between the room and missions, unlike Malcom who came in every three hours to check on his condition. This stopped after he had returned to normal,where both of them visited whenever they had time off from there jobs.

Soon it became morning and the hospital staff had been replaced three times. It was nearing three in the morning when Aionion's fever broke and he fully relaxed after just under a day of full bodily strain.

He slept fitfully, replenishing his Aura as he slept. He slept until the door was suddenly pushed open and Aionion woke but kept his eyes shut. When he heard the sighing of a chair near him, Aionion relaxed.

The moment of respite was broken by the damnable rock on him screaming.

'Get your fat ass up! We have a lot of work to do if you wish to harness the power you obtained two nights ago.'

'Dear Lord Mounty, not again...' Aionion sighed to no one and picked himself off the bed.

Aionion felt a hand land on his shoulder as he began to sit up and it gently raised him to a sitting position against the pillows.

'Hey Nebula, what the hell happened? Why do I feel like I've been put through a blender?'

Nebula muttered an offhand, 'You're offering,' before replying. 'Your body got an upgrade courtesy of me. I can now replace limbs and potentially quicken response times. My crystal can also be used as a projectile and shield, but that takes training or primal emotions.'

'So I went through a lot of pain to get a little bit of power? That's just unequal...'

'Who you calling a little bit of power?! I'll have you know I just doubled your Aura and healing. I also boosted your semblance's power and distance.'

'As I said, a little bit of power. I can't even use my semblance offensively. What use is making it stronger?'

'Ever think of using it on your enemies? Slowing down their movements and then flattening them under the weight of their own bodies? Or perhaps making their weapons so heavy that they cannot lift it? These are all possible with the upgrades. Also, now you have telepathy to communicate with others. That's why there's a huge ass headache waiting for you.'

'Fuck you, you ass-' Any further retorts were cut off when he received a massive headache all at once. It seemed like it split his skull open and poured fire dust in.

Aionion grabbed his skull and screamed at Nebula to turn it off. Sweat ran in rivulets down his head and the fever was beginning to come back.

The person next to him swore and put a wet towel on his forehead. It cooled him down and reduced the head splitting headache to a low throbbing.

Aionion, through the haze and pain, wanted to test his telepathy on the person next to him. He opened his eyes and looked to the person next to him.

It just happened to be one of the newer recruits and they didn't know better than to run from the man on the bed.

Aionion pushed towards the young man and attempted to force him to get him a glass of water. It didn't work and the man easily pushed the intruder out. So he tried a new tactic.

He coerced open the man's mind and slipped in a sudden urge to get him a glass of water. The man turned then hesitated and turned back. Aionion pushed harder and planting the thought came easier this time. The man walked a few steps towards the sink then looked around suspiciously.

Aionion pressed the urge as hard as he could and the man ran to the sink but hit it and fell onto his back.

Then Nebula had a good suggestion for once. Become a poltergeist who took "control" of his body. Aionion grinned sickly that turned into a cough when the man turned back around.

The man had stood up by now and was looking around for the culprit. He looked at Aionion but Aionion pointed to a cup and it floated up before settling back down. The idiot didn't notice Aionion grin as soon as his back was turned.

An hour and a half later, Dantos came to the sight of the man sniveling and shaking in the corner, moaning about a poltergeist.

Ignoring the odd sight, he made his way over to a, though still pale, well that wasn't UNUSUAL, Aionion. Dantos went and pulled Aionion into a sitting position on the bed and set down the spare change of clothes he brought.

Aionion stood after putting on the clothes. They slightly reminded him of his black fatigues but made of a softer material. He absentmindedly tugged on the fabric, wondering if it could keep up with the wear and tear.

Aionion looked back at Dantos and attempted to push a thought into his head. He got a headache and quit trying to barge in.

Dantos turned to look at him and made a get on with it gesture, "Are we gonna go, or are we just gonna sit here and inspect the clothes I brought?"

Aionion tried to push his thoughts to Dantos but it was harder than adding a command. Commanding was working with one brain, communication required a bridge between two.

He pushed harder and harder as the bridge connected and his thoughts were voiced as a weak, whispered reply. 'Yes... Let us leave.'


	12. A Literal Cliffhanger

**Enjoy the story...**

After Dantos' fright, he realized the practical use of this miracle and left the matter alone. That is, until Aionion mentioned he could implant thoughts into another's head. Dantos giggled like a middle school girl. Aionion grimaced as best he could and mentally smacked Dantos. Dantos suddenly got a headache and dropped to the ground, holding his aching head. Aionion lent him a hand to pull him up and Dantos gripped it before pulling him down with him.

They laughed, Dantos physically and Aionion mentally, before they stood up and left the room. Aionion went to get his armor and Dantos sat outside his room. Practically as soon as Aionion opened the door, Dantos grabbed him by his metal armor and began dragging him down the hallway.

The two settled on an open end plane into Vale. They hopped on just as it rose off the ground and settled in for the flight.

Aionion and Dantos, seeing that they were close enough to the ground to jump, leapt off of the plane and free fell for a few seconds before landing. Aionion stood up from his usual small crater and Dantos fluttered down.

They revisited the store and ordered more than twenty of the pieces of clothing and had them sent to the airport they'd pick them up at later. That took half an hour and now they were walking towards the outskirts of Vale.

As they traveled, they noticed the houses become more and more decrepit. The houses had scars from old battles that had invaded the city. Some had walls caved in, others roofs. One was even missing the front half of the building.

A few minutes of walking later, they cane upon the giant wall that kept the Grimm from getting further into Vale. Ironically, the wall was the only thing in decent shape in this part of the town. It was littered with heat marks and scratches sure, but it was still functional.

As they reached the top of the wall, Aionion could see past the walls of the city and further into the frontier. Their were skeletons of buildings everywhere and theose slowly gave way to fields and further on, forests. Aionion could make out small hunters in training moving throughout the skeleton city. They were doing recon on the amount of Grimm in the area. All of this Aionion could see from atop the wall, a huge structure that towered over every building with five miles.

They hurried through the city and entered the forest that stretched across the horizon. Not even five minutes later, they were attacked by two Ursa minors. They were dealt with swiftly and efficiently. They took to the trees after that, wanting to avoid the worst of the Grimm for a while.

This fell apart when they were cornered in a clearing. The opposite side ended in a cliff that they did not see an end jumped down from the trees and were soon surrounded by nearly one-hundred Grimm of assorted species. There were many Beowolves, numbering around forty or so. Aionion spotted Ursa minors that were spread throughout the crowd and even a few Ursa majors. The rest of the Grimm were small, spiderlike creatures, roughly the size of Dantos' torso.

Aionion formulated a plan within two minutes of being surrounded. The reason it took so long; they were being attacked on all sides by Grimm.

Aionion had his short swords out, which nearly looked like daggers in his hands. He was tearing through the Arachnas with blistering speed. Their exoskeleton not doing much against his powerful slashes. Dantos was back in the trees, thinning the Ursa numbers with his handguns before being swarmed by Beowolves.

Both became a whirlwind of blood and removed limbs. Aionion's thick armor prevented most of the damage from the attacks but some squeezed through small gaps in his armor. Dantos was little better for wear. He had a slash along his chest that was slowly stitching itself shut and numerous small cuts littered arms. They regrouped at the cliff and Aionion told him of the plan.

'Get high and remove as many Ursa as you can. I'll see what i can do about the Beowolves.' Upon hearing Aionion's weird voice in his head, Dantos threw a chain that stuck on the cliff face and he hauled himself up to a ledge he spotted.

Aionion slid his blades back into place and twisted a knob next to his gauntlets and boots. The two made cocking noises and Aionion lowered himself into a loose fighting stance. As he heard the first pop of Dantos shooting the Ursas, the remaining nineteen Beowolves charged at him.

With a ear- shattering roar, the shotguns in his gauntlets activated and he blasted the first Beowolf point blank. The head exploded into viscera and gore and the body hit three others before falling still. Aionion kicked another in the gut as it lunged at him before it smacked into the cliff, breaking its back and killing it. 'Ooh that was nice! Don't you think you'll run out of ammunition before you kill all of them?'

The remaining seventeen circled around him. He punched his gauntlets together, reloading them, before readying himself for the next charge. By now, Dantos was out of ammo but was finishing off the Ursa physically. Aionion returned back to his fight only to be caught off guard when two jumped at him. 'One at twelve and one at five! Shit, three at six!'

Aionion punched at twelve, missing the Grimm but still killing it. Off balance, he leaned down and kicked at five, knocking it into a tree but not out of the fight. He spun on the ground underneath the three that leapt at him and punched at their backs. He hit one and killed it but the other two came back, joined by the one he kicked into a tree. He was down to his blades and his final three shotgun rounds now.

He fired the last three at the group still circling him, bringing the number down to twelve. They all began circling him now. He pulled his blades, still dripping with Grimm blood, from their sheathes and ran at the Beowolves.

Not the brightest Grimm, the remaining Grimm charged at the tank. He spun around the first Grimm and stretched his blades out while he ducked under them. They sliced through the Beowolves like butter and reduced them by half. He swung his swords again and the number dropped to three. The remaining three fled and Aionion wiped the blood off his visor and blades onto the fur of the dissolving corpses. 'God this shit smells! I thought the blood dissolved too. My armors gonna be stained black.'

'You just survived a Grimm encounter of nearly one-hundred Grimm and you want to complain about blood being on your armor. That's pathetic.'

'Can't i turn you off?'

'You see, that would req-'

Aionion tuned him out to notice Dantos looking up the cliff. Then Dantos glanced at him. He noticed his lack of climbing equipment and smirked before throwing a chain up to the top of the cliff.

"Race ya to the top! On your mark, get set, GO!" Dantos was gone before he even finished the sentence. He was slinging himself up with his chains and Aionion watched until he reached up using his semblance and ripped the chains out from the wall. Dantos turned in mid-air to look at Aionion then threw his chains back into the cliff. Secure once more, Dantos turned and stuck his tongue out at Aionion.

Dantos resumed climbing and Aionion walked up to the wall. He stuck his right foot on it and stretched his left leg up higher. Using his semblance so he didn't slide back down the cliff, Aionion began to jog then run as he grew used to the odd sensation of running vertically. Dantos watched in horror as he was passed then redoubled his efforts. Both pulled ahead only to be overtaken by the other until they reached the top of the cliff. By now, Dantos' hands were burning from the friction and Aionion was tired from using his semblance for so long.

The two looked back down the cliff they scaled. Dantos was getting vertigo since he never really thought about the height he could have fell from. They turned around but had to duck immediately to keep their heads on. The Death Stalker screeched at the two and drew its tail back for another try at impaling them. Dantos jumped over and Aionion ducked under it but they were knocked away from each other when it swung its pincers at them. They continuously avoided the pincers and tail, receiving minor injuries, until they had their backs to the cliff edge again. "Shit! We're cornered."

'Buy me some time, I have a dangerously stupid idea that might work. Lure the Grimm to the edge when I signal you.'

"How much time do you need? We talking thirty seconds or what?"

'Just do it!'

Aionion dropped beneath the cliff edge and stuck himself to the wall while pulling some explosive charges he kept on hand 'just in case'. He could hear Dantos screaming at the Grimm and running circles around the Grimm. He set the timer for two minutes and jumped back to the top. He ducked immediately when a pincer nearly took his head off and he heard a "Sorry!" from Dantos. He jumped on top of the Grimm's back slicing its back with his swords while avoiding the tail that was attempting to take him off. He stabbed an eye as he ran passed and landed next to Dantos when he jumped off.

"How long will this plan take?"

'Get it to the edge, as close as possible.'

They tried to maneuver the Grimm to the edge but ended up there instead.

"When is the plan gonna start? The Grimm's getting closer."

'Shut up and wait, we only have one chance at thi-duck!'

The Grimm's tail passed over their heads and stuck into the ground, immobilizing the Grimm. Then Dantos heard a rumbling, that emanated from their feet.  
"Is that what I hope its not?"

'What did you not hope for?'

"Explosives!"

'Oh well than yeah.'

The ground lurched and began breaking apart underneath them. A large piece of the cliff they were standing on broke away and left them on the edge. The two looked at their only chance of salvation, passed the Death Stalker, and sprinted at the stuck Grimm. The Grimm swung at them but they jumped over the pincers. The Grimm ripped itself free and lashed out at Aionion and Dantos. Not expecting the Grimm to attack behind it, they were knocked onto their backs and both scrambled to get up and off the falling piece of dirt. Then smaller clumps began pulling off with a sickening _slurch, _grotesquely reminding Aionion and Dantos what would happen if they didn't move. All plans to do this fell apart **(A/N hehe, all the puns) **when the chunk of the cliff shattered.

The two began jumping to avoid falling to their deaths and narrowly avoided the rocks again and again as they fell. They were nearing the top now and they could hear the Grimm screech as it fell off the slab. It swiped at Dantos as it fell and he narrowly missed an early grave by jumping off the rock he was on. The two burst out of the pile and hung onto the edge for safety. Aionion swung himself up first, followed by Dantos who nearly fell off because of more shifting earth. The two laid down where they were and each chuckled in their own way.

"I think- I think that's enough excitement for one day, let's go back before that explosion attracts more Grimm."

As they were walking away, Aionion turned back to look at the cliff that was noticeably shorter than it was before they came. He shrugged and had a silent, thoughtful **(A/N god im on a roll baby) **conversation with the annoying space rock that was his arm.

'Think they'll notice?'

'Who would miss an explosion as loud as that?'

Aionion sarcastically replied, 'You.'

As Nebula grumbled at Aionion, he was already turning back around to head back to Vale. Aionion was mechanically running through the forest when Dantos asked him a question.

"You wanna get a mission after this? I'm sure we could get an easy one like recon at the edge of town."

Aionion nodded his head and the two changed direction slightly to go straight to the airport. They stopped running once they reached the gargantuan walls that surrounded the city and Dantos whistled. "They're a lot bigger from this side aren't they?"

Aionion ignored his attempt at making small talk and began scaling the wall to get back into the city. The next hour was awkwardly silent, and they made it to the airport relatively undisturbed. They could hear gunshots from nearby and went to observe the fight. It swiftly became one of the most odd things they'd seen. A multitude of people in varying colors were fighting what looked like the White Fang. Then Aionion noticed the man that they children were fighting. He would've snarled if he could. He stood and was about ready to join the fight when Dantos pulled him down. A Bullhead was being pulled down by one of the children and would have taken him with it. The bowler hat man fled to a fourth Bullhead that he hadn't noticed. The two crept away seeing bowler hat man and his goons get away. They hurried to the airport and took the clothes with them on the short flight. The Bullhead they were in was made for transporting passengers so they had to wait to get off like everyone else. Aionion, after sitting down in a seat near the back, leaned his head against the wall to sleep during the short flight.

**I don't have anything to ramble about today T-T. See ya next time, might be a while before next update though. I can only work on this for about half an hour during school.**


	13. The Pervert has a Body

**Yo, yo, yo everybody. ArkAngel here with another chapter of Team ASceND.**

Aionion was jolted from his sleep as the ship settled on its dampers. He moved his hand away from the weapons on his hips and settled back as he waited. He stood from his chair and exited from the ship. He could see Dantos already striding away from him and the Bullhead. Aionion could hear the rapid thudding as he jogged to catch up. It echoed in his head and reflected the beating of his heart. Once he caught up to Dantos, who was already half way to Malcom's office, he slowed down, twisted his helmet to the side, and pulled it off. It came off with a hiss and a small click. The lights were nearly blinding after being in the helmet so long and he put an armored hand over his eyes.

"Too bright in here for ya?"

Dantos bit off an insult before ducking under the half-hearted punch Aionion threw at him. He took off laughing down the hallway and Aionion gave chase. The people didn't move out of Dantos' way but once they saw Aionion chasing him they fell apart into chaos, causing Dantos to be stranded in the middle of them. Aionion picked him up by the cloak he wore and carried him like that down the hallway. The cloth was smooth and Aionion nearly lost his grip on it several times. He finally decided to just punt him down the hall to Malcom.

Dantos screamed like a little girl as he flew through the air and Aionion chased after, about to kick him back down the hall. Dantos rolled to the side and Aionion pulled back from kicking the door in. The two stood up and brushed off any dust they picked up along the way. Once they were presentable, Dantos pushed open the door.

They came upon a sight they never thought they'd see. Malcom was not typing for once and there was another person sitting in the office. He had grayish-white hair and the oddest weapon they'd seen. It looked and functioned like a cane but had a hand guard near the top. The most colorful thing on his person was the green scarf he wore.

They ignored the man doing a double take of Aionion and stood at the desk. Malcom gave the man a we'll-talk-about-this-later look and turned to the two standing at his desk.

"What do you want this time?'

"Mission."

Malcom sighed and leafed through a small folder before looking back at the man. They had a silent conversation between them then Malcom shut the folder he had.

"There's been a personal request that has been brought to my attention. Professor Ozpin here has need of another team to attend Beacon to keep an eye on the students coming in from other schools. He believes there will be or there is a spy on campus. He needs you two to gather two others and arrange for them to join you at Beacon. This mission will run for an undefinable time period and has to be handled covertly."

He pointedly looked at Dantos for emphasis on the next piece. "That means no terrorizing the other students and certainly no going after the spy. Are we clear?"

Dantos rolled his eyes as he replied. "Yes. Your words are as clear as water." He paused for a second to think. "Where are we gonna get two others to join us? None of the others..enjoy... our company."

"And that is why you two are perfect for this mission. No one will miss you and its less paperwork on me if you fail and end up dying." Both inhaled sharply at this. "There is a high chance of you failing and dying. Now get out of my office and find two others." When they didn't move he added on. "NOW!"

Both hurriedly left the room to avoid Malcom's wrath. They hadn't seen it personally, but they did see the full body cast the last person who did was in. Aionion felt a prodding in his head and focused on following Dantos as he listened to what Nebula had to say.

'I can make a body for short periods of time so you'll only have to find one other.' Aionion narrowly avoided a door when Nebula continued. 'It'll look human and function as a human, but there is one side effect.'

'Is it life threatening?'

'No.'

'Will it hinder my ability to fight?'

'No.'

'Then I don't care.'

'Fine. Just find another person and we'll be good.'

Aionion made a show of typing on his scroll to a number he knew didn't exist. Quite handy when you have to fake this type of thing.

'I have a person prepared for the mission. He just needs me to meet him at the weapon area. I'll be back soon.'

"Okay..." How did he find someone that fast, he thought.

Aionion split from Dantos at the next intersection heading in the general direction of the meeting point. He faced little resistance as he walked as they heard him coming down the hall and moved to a different one immediately.

He shook his head while talking to Nebula.

'What weapons can you use? I'm pretty sure you've never touched a weapon before besides mine.'

'Exactly. I've dug through your memories and collected all the weapons training ones. I think I'll use a bastard sword and a huge gauntlet in place of a shield.'

'How the hell did you get that from my memories? I've never wielded either of those. They sound really bulky and unnecessary.'

'My body, my weapons.'

'But I'll be the one carrying them. Whatever. Now me separating from you is gonna cause some major pain the first few times. Just don't scream, hehehehehe.'

Then the excruciating pain started; it felt like someone was ripping his arm off. He could hear a low grinding sound like two rocks being rubbed against each clenched his hands and looked towards his arm. He had removed his armor in preparation for the separation but it still felt like his arm was being crushed against a hard surface. It took him a moment to realize it was.

An entire arm was splitting from his and he could see the beginning of a head and torso. It was made of rough crystal near his arm but he could see what appeared to be skin appearing at the end of the appendage. The entirety of the procedure was painful and exhausting but after a few minutes the split was done and Nebula had his own temporary body.

Nebula had taken the appearance of a man slightly larger than Aionion in size but well below his height so as to not arouse suspicion. He stood at a modest 5' 9'' and had long swept back silver hair, the same color as Aionion's hair. His bright blue eyes gave him away though. The eyes matched Aionion's left eye and that could become a problem later on. Clothes slowly arose from the skin, transforming from crystal to cloth in a few moments.

'Can you still hear me?' Aionion fired into the blank space that filled his head now.

"Yeah but I have to reply verbally now. Since I have my own body now I can hear your thoughts but I cannot reply, if you know what I mean."

'When did you suddenly become less of an asshole?'

"When I figured out you can kick my ass."

'Let's just grab your weapons and go.'

They dug through the heaps of weapons left behind from the deceased until they found something Nebula liked. He stood tall and strapped a leather vest on that had a sheath attached at the back that could fit the absolutely monstrous blade he wanted. The blade was nearly 4' 6" tall and the handle rounded it off at 5'. The gauntlet he grabbed covered the entirety of his arm and more. It was more of a shield then anything. It was strapped to his arm in several critical areas and those were covered by metal plates to resist disarmament. It was made of overlapping plates of metal that were layered to provide maximum flexibility without loss of protection. Even his wrist and fingers were armored. Nebula then grabbed some paint and a brush and added a blue gem shape to an open area of the gauntlet.

'That's your symbol? I thought it would be flashier than that.' In response, Nebula stuck his tongue out at Aionion. He shrugged off the taunt and began reattaching the armor he took off.

'So how long does this,' he gestured to Nebula's body,' last. A few days, I hope?' Nebula shook his head negative.

"No it only lasted for about twelve hours. More or less depending on how much aura you allow me to take." Aionion nodded sagely and began walking in the general direction of where he left Dantos. Nebula followed behind, moving his arms to get used to the weights attached to them.

"There you guys are! I've been waiting forever. I can't seem to find another guy that would come with us."

"Get a girl then you idiot. We need someone to scream at us when we get lazy...Some knockers wouldn't hurt either eh?" Nebula chuckled and suggestively waggled his eyebrows at the other two. Aionion punched him amicably, sending him into a wall before turning the corner. Nebula pulled himself from the crater and sped up to catch up to the other two.

Several hours of searching later...nearing Nebula's expiration date

"Whelp, I've got to leave guys. I'll meet up with you later." Aionion nodded like he knew this would happen. Dantos looked suspiciously between the two before shrugging it off. The two went to a nearby bar and sat down near one of the screens that were displaying the news.

'Breach in the Wall', the caption said. The news reporter went on to begin talking about the competition being held in Vale.

"Think we should do it? We just need one more person. We can enter in the tournament to get a scope of all the different teams here and see which one holds the spy."

'That would be logical. Maybe we should get back to looking?' They stood from their seats and Aionion threw down enough money to cover the drinks they got. They left the building, located on the decidedly shadier part of town, and began walking with no general direction to go. They passed several hunters who carried weapons but all of them sooner or later joined a team.

Discouraged, the two were about to give up for the night before they saw three White Fang members chasing a woman with vibrant red hair. The woman ran into a nearby alley and the three White Fang followed. One immediately flew back out before standing back up and racing back in. Aionion and Dantos jogged over to the alleyway to see the girl fighting off the White Fang members, but she was slowly losing steam.

Aionion raised a fist into the air before firing a single round from his gauntlet. The shot echoed loudly in the suddenly silent alley as all eyes turned to the newcomers. One of the White Fang members hissed at him before taking advantage of the girls shock, leaping at her for a finishing blow. Aionion moved to intercept the overhead strike on his arm and the blade slid down it with a shower of sparks. The faunas growled at its failed attempt and steps back to regroup with the others.

Aionion glanced over at Dantos who was slipping the girl out of the alley and out of the blast radius. While distracted, Aionion felt a thin blade cut a fine line across his skin. He danced back in pain before suddenly getting exceedingly angry. His hands became coated in a thick layer of crystal and he tried to punch one of them. The three leapt away when a large blade flew at them from the crystal covering his hands. It struck the ground and coated it in the same material.

He fell into a flurry of attacks that completely coated the alley in the crystal. It had sealed shut the exit and jumping only made them a target for the blades of crystal. One of the three was dead and the other two were slightly cut because they didn't move fast enough. Their backs were to the wall and Aionion was still rampaging.

Aionion then threw his hand at them and the walls began shooting thin spikes that struck the two men. Their bodies hung limply and blood slowly rolled down the thousands of spikes. Dantos arrived once the impaling began and Aionion, still in his berserk state, sent a crystal blade at Dantos. Dantos narrowly avoided the attack before seeing the crystal that normally only touched Anion's eye now covered more than half his face. Dantos grimaced at having to fight an enraged Aionion who didn't hit softly even when not trying.

"Well, it's a good day to die... Oh who am I kidding, it's never a good day to die."


	14. Pop Quiz on Survival!

**Whew! I've really pumped these chapters out! I'm done with my second year of Latin and I've decided to spoil you all as a reward. Without further adieu, let's begin. p.s. I don't own John Wick, Ruby, and Mockingjay part 2 stole Aionion! **

**xXxXxXxXxX I'm a twelve year old, not really XxXxXxXxXxXx**

Aionion glared at Dantos. He lashed out with a whip of the strange crystal and it smashed into the roof next to him. Dantos cursed and dived to the left. The shards of the broken roof flew over his head and embedded themselves in his cloak. The shards dug sharply into his skin and swiftly became uncomfortable.

The roof he was on crumbled and debris rained down around the two. Dantos' eyes widened before he swiftly rolled to the left and avoided another of the whips. Aionion's possessed body released the whip and drew the swords Aionion carried. Except they weren't his swords. They were covered in the crystal and glowed with an unearthly light.

Aionion's eyes also glowed with the same unearthly light. The light cast the rest of his face into shadow. Dantos looked around for something he could use because he didn't want to touch the crystal and see what it would do to his body. He couldn't use his chains as he'd just grab them and use them as a bridge for the crystal, couldn't use his hand scythes, and his hand cannons were useless against a tank.

Dantos' eyes widened as he nearly smacked himself. He had powers over darkness, why was he so freaking stupid? He drew one of his hand cannons and fired at the single light that still illuminated the alley. The alley fell into darkness and Dantos merged with them, becoming a part of them. Aionion looked around him, the glow emanating from his eyes barely illuminating the area. They caused more sinister shadows to dance on the walls and Aionion had a hard time deciphering which one would attack.

Then they all stretched to one corner. Aionion leaped to the corner and smashed into the ground. The only impact he felt was the ground and his fists. He mentally growled and it was passed on through the crystal. The sound reverberated throughout the area and Dantos froze in shock.

As he stopped suddenly, his foot caught on a pebble and it skittered off to the side, grotesquely loud. Aionion's enraged body's head snapped to the sound and the person who was stalking him. He leaped at the person and caught them by the throat. Dantos gasped as his throat was gripped tightly and he was slammed into the wall. Aionion's fist was wrenched back for a knock-out punch when Aionion suddenly went limp. Dantos pulled his hand off of his neck and slid down the wall, grasping his severely crushed and bruised throat.

Nonetheless, he slowly stood up and pulled Aionion's arm over his shoulder. The two had just exited the alley when Aionion became conscious.

'Why does my head feel like it was stomped on by a Goliath?'

'Maybe the fact that you took on too much of my power and went a little crazy?' Aionion's features visibly drooped when he noticed he was being held up.

'Why are you carrying me Dantos? I told you to watch over the girl.' Dantos painfully groaned.

"You impaled those three guys and then turned on me. You were like a wild animal. You had this crystal stuff all over you and- just look behind you." Aionion turned around finally noticed that an entire alleyway was covered in the slowly receding crystal. It covered the ground, the walls, and the exit opposite them.

'Huh. So that's what it does. Whatever, where's the girl?'

"I left her a few blocks down the road." Dantos smiled proudly at his choice before Aionion punched him into the wall they were passing. "The hell was that for?"

'For leaving a poor, defenseless girl all alone.'

The two were just turning the corner to greet the girl when Aionion's danger senses went off. He leaned back and Dantos glanced at him before taking a plank of wood to the face. He was bowled over and the girl stepped out from where she was hiding.

"I'm so sorry! I thought the White Fang had come back to get me." Only then did she notice that the two of them were covered in blood and sweat. "What happened?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with. Now, we didn't just save you to be heroes. We need something from you too."

"W-what is it?"

"We just need you to come with us to Beacon." To complete the image, Dantos smiled good-naturedly and gave her a thumbs up.

She nervously shuffled her feet back and forth before replying. "O-okay. How are we getting in? I don't think they let just anyone in."

"Just come with us and take a coincidence." He turned to look at Aionion before continuing. "Now, we have to go back to see Malcom. If you want to go to Beacon you'd best follow us."

"Okay! Hey, why doesn't he talk?"

'She's too naive and innocent. We'll have to fix that as soon as possible.' Dantos nodded.

"Yeah she has to be introduced to killing people instead of Grimm."

"Why are you talking to yourself?" Dantos spared her a glance before looking back at the girl.

"What's your name kid? We need to call you something besides girl."

Completely forgetting what she had asked before, she bubbly replied. "My name is Scarlet. I was named that because of my red hair. I don't really like my red hair because the other kids used to make fun of it and call me tomato."

Aionion finally stepped forward to talk to the fifteen year old. He knelt down on one knee and even then he was still taller than her small stature of 5' 4". Before he scared the shit out of her, Dantos spoke up.

"You're going to have to learn something about my friend here. He cannot talk but he has found a way around it. Sadly he can't hear our reply so we have to reply verbally. Don't panic or scream."

'Have you thought about this? I mean chewed it down to the bone. You dip so much as a pinky into this pond, you may well find out something reaches out, and drags you to the depths.' She looked around surprised before looking back at the man in front of her. He pulled his face mask down to show his lack of a mouth.

She jerked back in surprise but she didn't scream or cry out. She stretched her petite hands out and ran them down his cheeks. Aionion closed his eyes and remembered the last time someone had touched him like him. He jerked out of his memories when she removed her hands.

"If you can talk, why wear the mask?"

Aionion looked at the girl before replying. 'An assassin blends in with the crowd, not become the crowd spectacle. If you are to join us, you need to learn that very quickly.'

"But I thought Hunters and Huntresses fought Grimm.."

She paused for a minute before reading between the lines of what he said. "Oh. Ohhhhh...So you k-kill people?"

'It is what I was trained to do. Humans are of much more danger to themselves than the Grimm are.'

"What about the White Fang? Do you kill them too?"

This is where Dantos jumped in to avoid getting too far into this conversation on the streets, no matter how deserted. You never know who's listening.

"O-kay that's enough of that! Now let's head back to headquarters and get some dinner, or in your case Aionion, catch the last rays of the sun." He paused to laugh at his joke before realizing no one joined in. "Scarlet, collect anything you need or want and we will find you."

She'd started leaving when he said they were leaving and turned around at the end of the sentence. She looked around the now empty streets in surprise. "Where..."

Aionion stood on a roof three blocks away and were having a good laugh as they watched her determinately search for them. She eventually gave up and left to go pack her stuff. Aionion and Dantos turned to get back to Malcom to report their success.

Sometime later, Malcom's office

"Did you find someone?"

"Why do you sound so excited to be rid of us? I thought we were friends?!"

Malcom gave Dantos a deadpan look. "Well I just so happened to be watching the news when it came up on you two."

"Oh the part where we saved the girl right?"

"No. The part where you," he gestured to Aionion, "destroyed a quarter of a block in a rampage. And you," he swung his head back to Dantos, "only angered him further instead of knocking him out."

"Too late for an 'I'm sorry'?"

"The grand total of this excursion is going to cost me over five thousand Len. Just take a plane, get to Beacon, and stay out of any major trouble. You are to prevent student on student violence and only to interfere when it could become catastrophic. Are we clear?"

Dantos had one hand behind him on the desk with his fingers crossed. "Crystal."

"Uncross your fingers."

Danto's eyes widened before he nodded. He felt a slight intrusion before he heard Aionion. 'His eyes flickered for a moment. That's how he knew. He somehow saw through you.'

"Quite the interesting semblance you got Malcom. Is that how you know where we all are at all times?" He paused to inspect his nails. "Kind of stalker-ish if you ask me. Maybe I should tell everyone that you spy on them hmm?"

"What do you want?"

"What?"

"What will it take to keep your mouth shut and forget about this?"

"Well I would want a private jet, but I know that's not going to happen. You know what, I'll take this favor later. Aionion, we have a girl to find."

Aionion bumped knuckles with Dantos before the door swung shut behind him. 'So when will we call the favor in?'

"We'll know when we get there. Now where was she headed? I believe you set the chip on her."

Aionion fumbled with the tracking device he had before he found her. 'Heading towards a coffee shop. She's moving at a slow pace so we should be able to beat her there.'

"How do you know she's going to this coffee shop?"

'I took a look through her personal files for a while on the way here. She goes here often and buys the same drink every time, mocha with a shot of vanilla and extra sugar. Seems she likes things sweet.'

"That's a little stalker-like."

'Just wanted to find her preferences so we can surprise her there.'

"So you buy her coffee but not me?" He dramatically took in a breath. "I thought we were partners."

'You have a job. Sure not a respectable job like cooking, or working in a coffee shop like she does. Buy your own coffee.'

They paused in their conversation to exit the plane normally. Before long they were standing before the coffee shop and deciding who would pay.

"You pay!"

'You have more money, plus, you left her alone. You owe it to her.'

"Why do I have to pay for you then?"

'You offered to pay...'

"Yeah I did, didn't I?"

They stepped into the coffee shop and settled into a table set for three. The coffee shop had a quaint feel to it, more like a house than a store where hot drinks were bought. "It's quite cozy isn't it?"

Aionion nodded while watching the door. She'd be there any minute now. He motioned for Dantos to stay put and went to talk with the slightly frightened teen at the counter. He gestured to his mouth and shook his head. The teen visibly relaxed because mute people are always harmless.

Aionion looked across the counter looking for the coffee she drank. He pressed all the buttons needed before putting a note down. The teen clearly got the message and stuck in to the cup before handing it to Aionion. Aionion shook his head and gestured to the person hunched over in the doorway carrying a large bag.

He went to sit down and watch how she took coffee from a stranger. She set the bag down next to the door. She walked up to the counter about to ask for her regular before she noticed the cup with a sticky note on it. It had a smiley face on it with Drink Me! written on it. She grabbed the coffee and went to sit down near her bag. Aionion turned to Dantos and nodded before both put on White Fang masks and walked towards the exit.

She finally noticed them and stiffened up before relaxing and casually sliding her weapon from its sheath. 'Good. She noticed us. Now let's see if she drinks the coffee.'

The left the coffee shop and stood across the street. Scarlet visibly relaxed and sheathed her weapon before turning to her coffee cup. Now that she knew who it came from, the coffee shop quickly emptied when they'd walked in, she wouldn't trust it and put the lid on before grabbing her bag and getting ready to leave. Once Aionion was sure she was encumbered, they quickly walked back in and blocked the entrance. She looked back up and reached for her weapon before she realized she couldn't. She helplessly looked up as the White Fang moved her hair to the side before removing his mask.

She waited with baited breath before releasing it once Aionion revealed his face. She turned to look at the other one only to see Dantos pulling off his mask as well.

"Dear lord you scared me!"

Dantos waved her off before looking at her harshly. "You could have died three times in the last five minutes. We do not live in a world of straight up fights. People will attempt to drug you, poison you, or assassinate you while you are relaxed. The coffee could have been poisoned. We could have killed you while you were absorbed in drinking in the smell of the coffee. We also could have defeated you while you were incapacitated with the bag."

She feebly protested against Danto's statement. "This place is safe! No one knows I come here."

Dantos stepped back to let the technical genius tell her. 'You come here at least twice a day, you buy the same coffee every time, and you have a set pattern of how you get here. Any idiot with a scroll and satellite imaging could piece together where you are at any given time.'

"So? I would still be under the radar if it wasn't for you two."

'No. You would be dead if it wasn't for us.'

She glared before smirking at him. "At least I can visibly express myself."

Now it was Aionion's turn to glare, except he towered over her and his hands had his weapons extended halfway. His eyes narrowed and images of all the slaughter he'd done swept across his face, paralyzing her in fear. It left an unmistakable splatter of blood across his torso from right hip to left shoulder. The temperature seemed to drop several degrees before he leaned back satisfied.

She released the breath she'd been holding and committed to not making him any more violent. 'Dear Monty he's scary. Please never put me through that again.'

'Hmmph. So she has some spine.'

Dantos awkwardly watched Aionion transform into a terrifying demon before his eyes and rolled his eyes when Aionion looked to be satisfied. "Are you done now? We have a tight schedule if we are to catch a flight to Beacon tomorrow."

Aionion grabbed the small, relative to him, bag and pushed Scarlet through the door with the other. 'If we are to make it, we have to pick up the pace.'

"I know that but she can barely keep up now."

Aionion shook his head before throwing her back to Dantos and pulling her onto his back. She fit snuggly into the area between the swords on his hip and just underneath the hard crystal of his shoulder. Aionion and Dantos hefted their relative weights before taking off through the city. They began the long race from their location to the private strip Malcom owned.

Scarlet bit back a scream and held on for dear life as she was treated as a paper weight. She closed her eyes when they reached a large jump across a plaza before opening her eyes when they didn't fall. She looked down to see them barely falling and moving slightly slower than Dantos, who had slung a chain to a tower and held on for the ride. Aionion barely broke stride when his foot hit the roof on the other side of the plaza, before jumping again. This time, they landed on a tower close to the strip and Aionion set her down as Dantos swung up to them. Only then did she look out from the tower at the sunset as it set on the ocean.

"Wow...It's beautiful."


	15. Off-Work Fun!

**YO! Welcome back to some more ASceND. Thank you for joining us today; I'm your host, ArkAngel! *imitates crowd screaming* He...he, that was funny, right?**

_"Wow...It's beautiful."_

They sat on the roof of the tower as she watched the sun set behind the horizon, throwing the sky into brilliant shades of pink, red, and orange. The sun reflected off the buildings around them, throwing their owns colors into the collage of colors already there. Aionion stared up at the broken moon rising behind them.

'I wonder if she's watching me even now? Would you be proud of me? You were the sun that guided me away from the darkness, now you are the moon that lights my path through it.'

Pushing his thoughts of the past behind him, Aionion turned back to the two with him. 'Ready to go?'

They both nodded and began to get ready to leave. Scarlet walked back to Aionion who inwardly grumbled when Nebula nudged him mentally. 'You are being reduced to a personal taxi for the child. Ha! Wanna see if she wants a better ride later?'

Nebula suggestively nudged Aionion again before returning to crawling through Aionion's memories. That felt kinda creepy but it was better than letting him loose. Scarlet mounted Aionion, Nebula renewed his laughing at this, and settled onto his back.

Dantos sent his chain away and saluted Aionion before swinging away. Aionion walked to the edge before he asked Nebula a question. ' Can we make a board to surf on out of crystal? I have a plan to beat Dantos back.'

Aionion took a step forward then his foot caught on a dark blue, thin board of crystal materialized in front of him. 'Nice.'

He looked back at Scarlet before winking. 'Hold on tight.'

"What do you meeeeaaannn?!"

Her question was cut off as Aionion jumped onto the board and levitated it. He slid to the edge and dropped in. Luckily the building was old and abandoned so they didn't catch attention. Until the mirrors started shattering behind them.

Scarlet let out a shrill scream before clutching onto his coat and holding on with a death grip. Aionion screamed too, just in joy. Nebula screamed along with Aionion as they surfed down a building. 'Woohoo!'

Malcom looked up from his work when he heard a message appeared on his screen.

_Man surfs down building with woman on back_

He sighed before taking a sip of coffee. 'Of course they did.'

Dantos turned around when he heard the scream. His eyes widened in shock when Aionion pushed off the building and flew overhead, the glass following too. Dantos cursed before tossing a chain onto one of Aionion's swords and held on. The glass just missed him and rained down on the building he was over top. He let out a sigh of relief.

Aionion had reached the peak of his jump and now they were slowly falling to the ground. He aimed at a nearby building and heard a whistling before he saw Dantos pick up speed towards the plane. 'He isn't beating me.'

Aionion released his control before halting his fall before hitting the roof. He pushed off once again, flying over the buildings in his path. He sees Dantos in the distance about to land near the plane. Aionion pulls a rifle from his cloak and fires behind him, having seen red riding hood doing it. Unleashing the full clip of ten, he got tunnel vision before he skids to a stop in front of Dantos. "I win! You have to pay for the next meal."

Dantos childishly stuck his tongue out at Aionion before he opened his eyes to see his tongue three centimeters from a sword. Scarlet finally released Aionion and slid to the ground. "Never...going...with you... again."

Aionion shrugged and picked her up from the ground. The two (three?) males mentally shrugged and got into the plane. This is when Nebula piped up. 'She tipped over like a cow! I guess you could say that was an udder failure!?'

Nebula laughed at his own joke for a while before he brought up the next. 'I guess she should've tried some...udder tactics.'

'Yeah that was a real knee slapper...If this is my life, I almost wanna cut off my arm.'

Nebula cackled the entire way home.

Once they'd touched down, they stopped at Dantos' room for his gear before stopping at Aionion's. The two rooms were polar opposites. Dantos's had posters on the walls and lights around the room. It was painted a nice baby blue color with one wall being beige.

Aionion's room was a complete one-eighty. His walls were barren and his walls were still the original grey. There was a plant that tried its best to make the room brighter but ultimately failed. The only sign someone lived here was the slight depression on the otherwise plain bed and the clothes that were packed into a small bag.

With their bags in hand, the three headed for Vale and beyond that, Beacon.

Jumping off the plane as usual with Scarlet on his back and Dantos carrying his bag, the three headed for their destination. After a long, exciting trip through the city like normal people, they loaded their bags onto a bullhead and sat for the short flight to Beacon. After being seated for a while, Nebula finally spoke up. 'Sooooo? Your going to a school full of people trained to kill monsters. Won't you feel a little off? I mean, you do kill people. I can personally count 49 bodies and that's not counting assassinations.'

'Your point is? This is the life I chose and like I said to her; Once you stick one finger in, something will reach out and drag you to the depths. I can't escape this life anymore than the others can.'

'Except they can go somewhere. Hide. Blend in.'

Aionion was silent for what felt like a few moments while he considered this. It was only when Dantos tapped him on the shoulder when he snapped out of it and exited the bullhead. 'So this is Beacon.'

**Just a quick filler chapter to get them to Beacon and show a little bit of the fun they have when not on missions. Expect a larger chapter next time. Can Aionion trust them to not leave him? Or will he be stuck in the darkness alone forever?**


	16. Life at Beacon part 1 (Late Present)

They three had just stepped off the plane when they heard a full clip of ammo fired. Dantos half drew his hand scythe before breathing and sheathing it. Aionion had a sword in his hand and his other hand going towards the long rifle sticking out from behind him. Looking around and seeing no assailants, he sheathed his weapons and turned to the others. Scarlet looked at both of them before shrugging. "Come on we have to talk to Ozpin."

Dantos grumbled under his breath but nonetheless followed. Aionion looked around one more time before he followed. His footsteps echoed in the distance, returning to where he was. He'd missed the green-haired girl sitting in a tree hurriedly type on her scroll before leaving.

After talking to Ozpin and receiving their room number, they set out to find it. After five minutes of looking, Dantos giving up, and finally asking a student, they arrived at the door. The door was a quaint white and plain but the room was near the grounds and the cafeteria, two of the areas they needed in the morning. They'd split the room into fourths before Dantos realized something. "Hey, where's the other guy? Didn't you say he'd meet us here?"

'He's been here the entire time.'

Right before their eyes, they watched as Aionion removed his coat and exposed his arm to the world. Sunlight streaked in through the windows, hitting the crystal and reflecting. The room lit up in shades of blue. Then they heard Aionion give a grunt as an arm separated from his and then a shoulder.

"What the fuck."

"What the fuck!"

The torso grew and the legs began forming before skin began growing over the crystal. In several minutes, a partly clothed, partly crystal human stood before them. He spoke when the last pieces of his shirt formed. "Sup. Your god is here. Worship me."

He spread his arms for dramatic effect before dodging a punch from Aionion. Dantos had drawn his scythes and was prepared to throw one before he took another glance at the man. "Holy sh- Isn't this the guy that ditched us when we were looking for her?"

'Yes.'

"Of course its me! Who else could Aionion contact so fast? I am a part of him, like he is a part of me."

'I am not a part of him.'

"Bullshit! We are one and the same. Especially now that I've taken the time to review your memories and upgraded your body with my own. It can withstand anything short of sitting on half a megaton of explosives."

Dantos and Scarlet's eyes widened before looking at Aionion who took this rather well. "He's changing what-who you are! Why are you taking this so calmly?"

'Because I've started to remember. I remember, glass- a tank full of a liquid. I remember waiting before something happened. After that I have no memories. I remember that I never was human. I was put together to be the ultimate soldier. To be invincible.'

"Y-you..."

"He's right. He never was human. He can't consume food, nor sleep for more than a few hours. I've never seen him sleep for more than a few hours unless he was unconscious."

'I've learned to accept that I'll never be normal. I can never blend in. I'm too different to. I have to wear a mask at all times to even look normal. I lost someone I loved because I thought I was ready. I threw the last scraps of my humanity away to make sure that it never happens again.'

The room fell silent while Dantos and Scarlet took this in. Scarlet was two steps from sobbing. Dantos, as dark as he was, could see what he was hinting at. He would never belong to a group of people.

Scarlet finally let the first tear drops fall before she fled the room. "You know who she reminds me of Aionion? Sima. Remember her? I do. You lost her once, this may be your only chance of getting her back."

Aionion froze at the mental stimulation before he released a sigh and left the room. He followed the mobs of people all facing one way, looking as if someone kicked a puppy.

Aionion found Scarlet twenty-four minutes later, talking to Ozpin. "I'm sure he didn't mean it that way. Some people just have a hard time letting go of the past."

"What past does he have? I know nothing about him. We're supposed to be a team. Teams don't keep secrets."

"Give him some time. I know people take time to open up to others. Others want to forget their past; bury it in their minds."

"What if he never opens up?"

"He will eventually. He will probably reveal everything to you when he thinks you're ready. Or he may hold it until you need to know."

"I am ready."

"That proves my point. You think you're ready. Prove it to him. Show him you can take care of yourself."

"I can! I've taken on entire mobs of monsters before. What else does he want?"

Ozpin looked at her seriously for a moment. "What can do more damage to us than the monsters?"

Scarlet stared at him, unknowing of the answer. "Humans. We can do more damage to ourselves than the Grimm ever could. If a war broke out now, their would be nothing left for the Grimm to destroy. His job is making sure that that never happens." He paused as he turned to walk away. Looking back over his shoulder he finished their conversation. "Perhaps he is waiting for you to show you can kill another human, whether or not you actually kill them is up to you."

His steps echoed as he turned a corner and whispered to seemingly the air. "_Believe in her and she will show you she can._" He continued without pausing to the tower he used as an office. Aionion slipped from the alcove he'd hidden in, and stepped out to talk with Scarlet as well.

'I am sorry for upsetting you. You have my utmost apologies.'

She nearly hit the ceiling when she jumped in fright. "It's just you...I'm sorry for not understanding."

"Now that you've made up, how about some angry sex to make it up?"

Scarlet stuttered for a few moments before she screamed in anger at Nebula. "S-shut up!" She grew more bolder as she continued. "Go shove a stick up your ass!"

Nebula smiled at her with a large smirk. "Care to put it there for me?"

She blushed a dark scarlet before huffing and walking away from them.

"When will you tell her? You know she's ready just as much as I do. What makes you hold back?"

'I lost her to these people once, I don't think I can lose her again.'

They went to dinner that night and sat in the corner opposite the exits, watching the students come in and out. They spoke in harsh whispers as they conversed. "_It'll be impossible to find the spy in this. Too many different personalities and everyone carries weapons. Anyone could be the spy._"

'What if there's more than one? They wouldn't get far here without a team.'

There was silence as they considered this. "_Then well have to wait and see. _"

**xXxX-Linebreak-XxXx**

Six long months later, they'd narrowed the list down to a team from another school. They'd observed the Beacon teams the first three months and that had led to nowhere. Unless you count trying to follow team RWBY, as they always find the trouble.

They were sitting in the cafeteria, waiting for lunch to begin. They, Dantos, Scarlet, and Aionion, were sitting around a table, trying to pool their knowledge to finish their assignments early. That is until people started flooding in for food. They saw teams RWBY and JNPR, sitting next to each other as usual. Until suddenly, an unidentifiable piece of food flew by their heads.

They looked over at the perpetrators, only to duck again as more food went flying. They heard a scream of food fight, before food began to be used as weapons. Aionion flipped the tables over as a makeshift shield, and ducked behind it to check what food they had. To his disheartening, he saw they had zero food. He looked over the table and dived over and sprinted to the food line. He took many shots as he ran, his clothes now glistening with tomatoes and soda.

Dantos looked over the table to run for ammo as well before receiving a bread stick to the temple and passing out. "Oh god, I'm on my own."

She looked back over the table before sprinting to the food line as well. Aionion was exiting as she entered, they collided, and she fell to the ground, unconscious. Aionion stood after checking on her before he lobbed whole watermelons at the ones who started it. They rained down harmlessly, only glancing off one of them.

Then Aionion heard a shattering sound before looking behind him. He raced towards Scarlet as the pillar he'd seen fell on top of them. He threw himself on top of her. It crushed him and he nearly collapsed but he held on for Scarlet's safety.

Once the dust settled, he stood from the destruction and looked around the now thoroughly demolished cafeteria. The pillar was the worst of the damage but it hadn't killed anyone thanks to him. He breathed a sigh of relief and quietly left the room with Dantos and Scarlet in his arms. He heard the damage be reversed but didn't look back, more concerned for his teammates then the destruction of a building. He'd destroyed more of those then he cared to count. 'At least no one is hurt.'

'Except for you. If I wasn't here then you would be dead. You have barely any aura left and there's minor fractures in your back. If not for my enhancement...'

'Yeah, yeah. Be more careful. I got it. Besides, it's not likely the spy will collapse a building on me.'

Nebula's sighed before replying. 'Don't jinx it. The world has a habit of saying fuck you to people who jinx themselves.'

**(A/N- A little foreshadowing hmm? There will probably be one more time skip before any real fighting happens. Maybe some chapters I've thought of will provide enough sustenance for a while? (P.S.-Some chapters are meant to be funny one-offs) (P.P.S- I have a naruto work stored, should I post it? Scream at me if you do.)**


	17. A Formal Request

**(A/N) This is one of the random chapters that will be strewn throughout this-soon to be- gory, dark, and disturbing story. You can choose the next one and off chapters/ arcs. More at bottom.**

Aionion sighed as he laid the two on their respective beds. The beds groaned as their weight settled. He sat down on the edge of his bed and looked around the now decorated room. Dantos' corner featured a baby blue color and a few posters of bands. Unsurprisingly, his bed sheets were primarily black.

Scarlet, much like her name, had decorated with a bright red and hints of lavender. She opted to leave the bed sheets white but her pillows were a dark maroon. She had a poster of a girls pop band in her corner.

Nebula... he didn't really color anything. Just dark blue pillows and such. The most prominent features in his corner was the posters of women in various seductive poses. He seemed proud that they made Scarlet flush anytime she looked at them.

Aionion didn't decorate, much to his teammates ire. His walls were bare and his bed uncolored. The only things worth noting were the potted plant that was on the desk next to him and the large rifle leaning against the wall. The plant was still green but it had started to wilt despite Scarlets best efforts.

Suddenly he received a message from one of his former employers. It was encrypted on a level that only one man he knew could afford it. Walt Schnee. The man that headed the questionable empire Schnee Dust Company. The message was vague on details but promised a large amount of len if successful. Aionion read through the perameters as he waited for his teammates to awaken.

"What do you think Nebula? Do we risk it with Scarlet?'

'Let the girl decide. It will be her first mission and there is a _very_ high chance of death.'

They sat in silence for a while before Dantos finally opened his eyes. He looked around the room in confusion before his eyes settled on Aionion.

"Weren't we just in the cafeteria?"

'It collapsed on top of me and I relocated us. Besides, we have a new mission. We just have to let Ozpin know if we go.'

"What do you mean 'if'."

Aionion gestured to Scarlet for emphasis. 'This is mostly her choice. There will be a very low chance of survival for her if she isn't careful.'

Dantos nodded before Aionion pulled his deck of cards from the single bag he had. Dantos smiled before pulling his len from his bag. "You're on."

They gambled for several minutes with neither gaining much len before Scarlet groaned. "Come on sleeping beauty! This mission won't do itself without you."

She groaned again before sitting up. "What?"

'We have a mission but it is your choice to go or not.'

"Why wouldn't I go-?"

Dantos spoke before she could finish. "There is a very high chance of you not surviving if you're not careful."

There was silence for a few moments as she contemplated what he said. "What is the mission?"

Dantos looked at Aionion expectantly. 'The mission is to protect our employers heiresses before, during, and after a formal gathering of his. So you'll need to suit up. Or dress up in your situation.'

"What about you?"

In response, Aionion gestured to his face and left arm. 'I'll be on overwatch because I don't blend in as well. " Scarlet flinched at this. 'I'll watch the eldest child. You two tail the younger and ensure she is not injured or kidnapped.'

"That sounds easy enough. Why call us though? If the amount they will pay us is this much, why not just hire guards?"

'Guards are easily spotted and bribed. Money can buy you everything, but it can also take away everything you own.'

'Where do I come into this?'

"What about weapons? Will it be good ole' fashioned fist fighting?"

'Nebula has graciously,' Nebula grumbled at that, 'offered to create a weapon of our choice out of himself that's nigh indestructable. Unfortunately, that leaves him out of business. He can't create himself with pieces missing.'

"What are we gonna wear?"

Nebula perked up at this, drooling over how _little _he wanted Scarlet to wear. He pleaded with Aionion to mention nothing, but Aionion smashed that option down as soon as it was offered. 'Since we can't visibly wear armor, we're gonna need a way to hide it in our clothing. Thankfully we know quite a few people.'

**xX Linebreak Xx**

Scarlet looked down at the red dress that she would be wearing. The dress was one of a kind and it was made of a clearly expensive material. It stopped just past her knees and a slit along the side allowed full movement of her legs. The thing that made it unique though, was the material that would sit between her modestly sized boobs. It would prevent getting shot in the chest many times by dust rounds before failing. This was demonstrated earlier by Aionion who shot a sheet of the material several times with the rifle he carried. The bullets bounced off and collected in a heap of steaming metal on the ground.

Honestly she could never afford this dress. She'd looked at the pricetag when she was shown it. Seriously, how much len did these guys have! Then she noticed Dantos walk out from his changing room clad in a black vest with a black tie and blue undershirt. The pants were just as dark as the vest.

Dantos looked himself over in a mirror before looking at Scarlet. "Do I look good? Aionion helped with the colors."

Scarlet watched over to him before straightening his crooked tie. "You look very nice."

'You look nice as well Scarlet.'

'I'd say she'd look better with less dress. Don't you agree with me Aionion?'

Both Dantos and Scarlet noticed Aionion pale slightly before returning to normal. They both shrugged and looked in the mirror at themselves.

'Okay we have three days until then. So let's pay for these and then return to Beacon.'

Dantos went to pay for his suit while Scarlet turned to Aionion. "What are you gonna be wearing?"

'I'll be wearing this.'

He gestured to his trenchcoat with custom hood and pockets. 'There are many places to put ammunition. Besides, I'll need as little eyes on me as possible.'

She looked at him like you would a child who said the moon was whole. "So a trenchcoat and hood is your idea of stealth? You need to blend in. Wear something nice."

She looked around for a few moments before returning with a black overshirt, black pants, a red undershirt, and a dark grey tie. "Try these."

Aionion put them on but didn't remove his mask. 'Maybe you should woo her Aionion. She can't say no.'

Aionion shook his head before speaking to Scarlet. 'Happy? Let's go pay for your dress and my suit then we are going back to Beacon.'

Scarlet smiled before turning and changing back into her normal hoodie and pants. Aionion paid for both her dress and his clothes and the three left to catch a dustplane back to Beacon. They resolved to create their weapons tomorrow before dinner when they had freetime from class.

**(A/N) This arc will only be a few chapters long. It's to fill in the gap between semesters one and two. Your choices for the next one and off arcs are**

**-stealing stolen dust from White Fang and returning it to the Schnee Dust Company**

**-a dark and gruesome adventure through a forgotten city that lay deep inside Grimm territory**

**-a humerous band battle between Teams ASceND and Verdant Night**

**Thanks for reading!**


	18. When the Snow Glistens

After an exhausting two days of training Scarlet to fight against humans, the three were dressed and waiting outside the mansion the party was at. Dantos and Scarlet had entered as a couple and Aionion was leaning on a wall outside for their marks to arrive. Aionion was staring off into space thinking.

'Why have a party at this large of a place? Haven't they learned that gathering White Fang targets only- Fuck.'

'Dantos, we have a situation.'

Dantos grimaced before leaning over to kiss Scarlet's cheek. He breathed out a warning to watch for White Fang. Scarlet flushed but not from the embarrassment.

She let off a false giggle to acknowledge him and try to draw attention away from them. She nervously played with the hem of her dress before she opened her mouth to ask Dantos something before they both received confirmation that their marks were here.

Aionion pulled up his mask to cover most of his face before he went to intercept the heiresses. The younger one looked at him with a huff before she stormed off into the throng of people. The eldest faced him smartly as she observed how he stood. Aionion stood tall, literally-he was nearly a foot taller than her. His hands were in his pockets, showing that he either had a weapon or was unafraid of her. His face was covered, either concealing his face or grievous injuries.

"What do you want? As you can see I'm quite busy."

Aionion took his time sizing her up. She wore a formal black and white dress with blue accents. She had tilted her head up to look him in the face, showing her steadfast personality. Her right hand rested on her hip-suggesting right-handedness- and her left hung loosely near the hem of her dress- probably concealing a weapon of some sort. He recalled that her name was Winter.

"Well?"

'Wow, even her voice matches her name!'

'Now is not the time for jokes.'

'Sheesh, fine.'

Aionion pulled his scroll from his pocket, observing her slightly stiffen when he handed it to her with her fathers message on screen. She read over the message, her face becoming more and more red with anger as she did.

"I don't need your or my fathers protection. I'll have you know I am part of the Atlas military."

Aionion sighed before gesturing towards the grounds. Winter huffed before reluctantly following him. He didn't notice her reach under her dress when he turned. He did notice however when he stopped and turned to look at her that she had pulled a knife from somewhere and pointed it at his back.

Aionion groaned as Nebula commented on his situation. 'Didn't know you liked being poked. Aren't you the one who's supposed to be poking her with-'

Aionion slowly began pulling his mask down and she raised her knife in a threatening manner as he did. He gave her a blank stare as she looked in shock at his unmasked self. 'Now that your done, I suppose I can talk now.'

Her eyes widened and she looked around for the mysterious voice. Seeing as he was the only person near her, he pointed the knife at him again, angrily demanding answers. "Who and what are you?! Why did my father hire you?"

'Calm down, we are not with the White Fang.'

"We!"

'Shit. Well the cats out of the bag. Might as well let the kittens out too.'

'We were contracted by your father to prevent a kidnapping or the injury of his heiresses. My teammates are enjoying the party while it lasts.'

"While it lasts?"

'What happened the last time a large group of people the White Fang hated gathered together?'

"It was a massacre...Weiss!"

'Relax, they will take care of her. As long as she doesn't leave the party, she will be fine.'

She breathed a sigh of relief before looking back at him. "So why are you here with me? Shouldn't you be guarding the heiress to the company?"

She said this in a sarcastic manner. 'Aren't parents supposed to love all of their children equally? And why the obvious dislike of your sister?'

"She's the heiress to the company. The most I will inherit is a job in the building. In my fathers eyes, once I left to join the military, I was no longer his heir."

Aionion was curious about this. He assumed all siblings loved each other immensely from observations of Team RWBY. 'You don't love either of them?'

Her face became downtrodden at this. "I-"

She was cut off as an explosion resounded. 'Shit! You guys okay?'

'We have to go.'

Just as a precaution, he handed her a sword he kept on hand and ran towards the destruction. He dove as another shell flew overhead and tore up a tree behind him. The tree shuddered as he looked back at it, remembering a similar situation just a few days before.

The tree splintered and cracked, falling towards the dust plane that was taking on fear-stricken party-goers. Aionion watched as it smashed into one of the wings, throwing the plane into a tail spin. It clipped the other plane there and it began to tip over, tossing its passengers against walls and for the unlucky ones, out of the plane. The second plane turned tail and ran, leaving behind any others.

The first plane exploded on impact with the ground, killing many of the passengers. The unlucky few who escaped though, were cut through by the White Fang. They stood in a line across from Aionion, cutting him off from reaching Dantos and Scarlet. He looked down the line of White Fang, noting that none of them were ranked any higher than new recruits.

He unbuttoned his coat and took it off, showing that he still wore his trench coat. It cascaded down around him, causing several unsecured dust rounds to hit the ground. The Dust inside sparked on contact and blew his coat around. Reaching into his coat, he pulled a rifle from seemingly nowhere. It gleamed in the light of the fires caused by the dust planes.

He stood for a moment and watched them before one of them ran at him, drawing their sword as they went. It slid from the sheath smoothly, even being handled by a man with little experience with a weapon. Aionion parried the sword thrust by sweeping his rifle across in front of him before smashing the mans nose in with the butt of the rifle. The White Fang recruit flew back and collapsed in front of the others, a large cloud of blood running down his face from his nose.

The recruits gave a cry of outrage before rushing en mass at Aionion. He stood still for a moment before raising his rifle. Their lifeless corpses started dropping to the floor, causing the others behind them stumble on them. This was the schneene **(A/N couldn't resist at least one pun) **that Winter, Dantos, and Scarlet arrived at.

Scarlet looked a little overwhelmed, probably the pile of corpses ten feet away from Aionion. They were frozen with a look of terror on their faces. Some had even turned to run but they were cut down as well. Each had a bullet hole in the center of their chest.

Aionion looked at his weapon in wonder. 'Nebs, do you ignore aura when you are made into bullets? It only took a single shot to each of their chests. They had at least some training.'

'No, they were just civilians with a week of training. The White Fang overwhelm with numbers, not a well-trained army. I do not think any of them had their auras unlocked either.'

Dantos clapped him on the shoulder before directing Scarlet to look for survivors from the crash. It would keep her mind off the fact that Aionion had killed thirty men with nothing but a rifle at point blank and left no survivors. "You couldn't leave some alive to question? If not for answers, at least for Scarlet."

Then they heard clapping and witnessed a White Fang member with long, wild hair and two large wolf ears walk out from behind the crashed plane. There were two other White Fang, though they were busy restraining an irate Weiss.

The man bowed before introducing himself. "My name is Tyler Wilde. Now as you can see we are at an impasse. You need to protect the girl while we need to take her alive. Now we can do this the easy way-"

He was cut off as two shots from Aionion's rifle killed the two White Fang holding the heiress. 'I've got this Dantos, make sure Scarlet's safe.'

Winter sped over to her to check on her while Tyler unsheathed his weapon. "Never mind I guess it's the hard way!"

Tyler roared as he sprinted at Aionion. Aionion gave the equivalent of a smile and changed his rifle to a sword. Not just any sword, a sword that was nearly the same height as him and weighing twice as much. He hefted the blade onto his shoulder before smashing it into the ground in front of him, shaking the ground and causing Tyler to stumble.

The two stood across from each other with their large blades drawn. Tyler's wasn't nearly as big but it was still large. They both stood tall and began smashing their blades together. Aionion had the height advantage but Tyler could get inside his guard easily. They smashed their blades together one more time before they were caught in a blade lock.

Aionion pushed off first before trying to underhandedly cut his legs out from under him. Tyler pushed off his sword that he stuck in the ground before flipping himself and going for an overhead slice. Both attacks connected but neither did what either wanted. The low sweep to a diagonal cut a painful line across one of the White Fang captains legs. The overhead slice merely dealt a glancing blow to Aionion's neck. 'Thank Monty you cover there as well Nebula.'

Both had their blade half in the ground and were using them to steady themselves. Aionion released his hold on the blade which shattered and returned to his arm, rejuvenating him. He pulled the glove he had on his left hand off before shifting his crystalline hand into a spike. Tyler's eyes widened before he stood and prepared his final blow. They both ran at each other before Aionion leaped into the air, driving his arm towards Tyler's heart at max power. Tyler swung his blade up to meet Aionion. Neither would miss.


	19. Round One

_Neither would miss._

Aionion's strike pierced his heart and burst through the back in a splatter of gore. His opponent's attack caught Aionion's torso and ripped up, stopping at his arm. The two ripped away from the other and waited to see who would drop first. Unfortunately for Tyler, his legs wobbled while Aionion stood back up and tore his ruined armor off of himself. It revealed the minimal damage he took due to the metal that was placed underneath his coat.

Tyler looked down at the gaping hole in his chest that wept blood at a furious pace. He smiled at Aionion before revealing the bomb his attack had just missed. "Looks like we both go to hell for our sins."

Aionion ducked and formed a shield of Nebula's crystal just before the bomb went off. He avoided most of the blast, but the sheer force of it forced him to slide till his boots ground to a halt at the edge of the cliff. This contrasted with what Scarlet saw as she returned.

She saw Aionion crouch and brace for impact but didn't see the bomb till it went off, throwing her onto her back. There was a ringing in everyone's ears as they stood and observed the damage. Tyler no longer existed, leaving an unmarked area in a sea of charred ground. They all looked around for Aionion, finding him standing at the edge of the cliff. He hung in a delicate balance between life and certain death.

Aionion leaned forward to safety before letting out an imaginary breath of relief. He stood and took a few steps to ensure his safety before collapsing. Winter and Scarlet cried out before rushing to check on him. Dantos strode over to return the weapon he had to Aionion. "Scarlet, if you keep squeezing him like that he will actually die. Return the crystal to him and he'll be fine."

Scarlet placed her weapon next to Aionion and watched as it burst into dust and returned to his arm. As he began to revive, Winter and Scarlet looked him over for damage. He had slight cuts across his forearms and one slightly more severe on his side, but he was otherwise uninjured.

Having eliminated most of the White Fang there, they relaxed and basked in the relief of not dying. Scarlet began laughing seeing as she survived. The others looked at her strangely, but did not interfere. They'd all done the same.

Aionion called in a favor from one of his clients. They didn't have to wait long before a plane arrived to take them to Vale.

Having dropped the 'Ice Queens' -as Scarlet dubbed them- in Vale, Scarlet, Dantos, and Aionion returned to Beacon. They'd taken the mission on Friday morning, so the tournament continued the day they arrived.

Aionion was looking forward to fighting. Dantos had been laid back the entire time yet Scarlet was completely nervous. She'd never fought in a team battle. They'd be the second fight of the day, right after team RWBY and team ABRN fought. After a long battle between the two teams with team RWBY coming out as the victors, it was time for team ASND to fight.

They all stood on the field, Dantos priming his scythes, Aionion cleaning his rifle, Nebula fixing his leather suit, and Scarlet nervously playing with her hair. Their opponents stood across from them and were huddled up, forming a plan. Their own was simple: choose one your best suited to fight, then their ass.

Their opponents finished their planning and faced them, each drawing out their weapons. Team CORL was a unique and diverse team to say the least. It was split evenly between men and women and they came from Haven. There was a giant of a man who had the biggest shield any of them had ever seen. He also wield a spear that fit through a small hole in the shield. He wore very thick armor to make up for his lack of mobility.

The other man on their team had a very large needle-like weapon on his back. It was literally shaped like a needle. The handle was the eye and Aionion could see the razor sharp tip from the other side. His armor consisted mostly of just plain clothes with small patches of leather on his shoulders, knees, and elbows.

The two women of the group looked identical. They both wore dark grey pants and wore matching blue tank tops. There weapons varied drastically. One had a handgun strapped to her right thigh and a sword to her other.

Her clone had two sais on her thighs and a suspicious bag on the other. Both wore minimal armor, protecting only their torso.

Aionion, dressed in his full suit of armor, began giving out orders for them to carry out. 'Nebula your with me. We'll take on the males. Scarlet, you and Dantos take out the twins. Watch out for what's in the bag. Could be Dust.'

They all nodded and got into their stance. Scarlet had donned her heavily modified dress for today with the mysterious alloy for shinguards. She had one ax in her hand and her other held a large knife.

Dantos chose not to wear his cape today, leaving it so as to not burn it. His scythes were at the ready and he had an ace up his sleeve this time.

Nebula... well let's just say he had planted his sword in the ground like it was nothing and was flexing his arms for the women in the crowd.

They watched as the images in mid-air spun before landing on two interesting choices. One was a jungle, and the other was an alpine tundra. It made for a strange mixture of hot and freezing. Aionion noticed the twins look towards the tundra and passed on the message.

As soon as the match was started Aionion sprinted for the tank to avoid him getting away. Nebula raced towards needle and swung wide. He side-stepped and thrust in return. Nebula continued with his spin and smashed into the side of him. He flew into the trees and Nebula chased after.

Scarlet stood with her back to Dantos, both scanning the tall grass for the twins. "I can't see them. And were in dry grass so I can't just light it up. A wildfire of this size is too large to handle."

"Just wait for them, they have to try to hit us sometime. When they do," he smacked his palm for emphasis," we'll hit them hard."

"Brave words for someone not in their home territory. It seems we've got the upper hand."

Scarlet panicked and threw a fireball in a random direction. The grass instantly lit up and began to blaze fiercely. Scarlet and Dantos retreated to the center to await them. The twins came out from the grass a little flushed from the heat but otherwise unharmed. Scarlet threw another fireball at them but one of them raised her hand and a spout of water put it out. "Where'd the water come from?!"

"You set fire to a tundra. That's a lot of ice to melt."

Aionion continued pressing down on the wall the shield had become. He broke off when he saw the spear flit through to pierce his side. He took three steps back before running and attempting to smash shoulder first into it. He rebounded and stood back up. 'He's got to be using his semblance to see through that shield. There's no way he's seen my attacks coming without looking.'

'Nebula, we need a new plan. Lead him to the middle.'

Nebula arrived shortly after. "What we got?"

'Can you survive an explosion attached to you?'

"No but I regenerate."

Aionion handed him his supply of explosives. 'Don't miss.'

"With this much? Who could miss?"

Aionion took on both with his sword until he threw back the sewer. The tank made the mistake of slightly turning to his teammate which Aionion capitalized on. His sword hit the side of the shield and threw his opponent's arm into the air. He finished with a kick that smashed both of them together before they slammed into a tree, dazing them.

Nebula finished with his preparations and rushed at the two in the forest. The crowd witnessed the large explosion that toppled several trees but saw no one get back up. That is, until Nebula stood up.

He began screaming about his arms. "Oh god! My arms! There gone!"

The crowd cried out at this until they realized he was laughing. They witnessed as he pulled his arms from the pile of limbs on the ground and reattached them. There was silence in the stadium for a moment before they cheered for the suicide bomber.

The twins turned to check on their teammates when they heard the cheer and missed the scythes that smashed into the back of their heads, knocking them unconscious. Scarlet let out a brief sigh of relief before sinking to the ground, exhausted.

Aionion carried Scarlet out from the stadium where the three guys argued about who would go on to the doubles round. "I should go, I have the most effective fighting style."

'Can't leave Nebula here because he'll cause trouble. So he has to be one. And i have to go to keep an eye on him.'

"Fine."

"No, no. Leave me here. I'll take _good _care of her."

'So we've agreed. Meet here tomorrow for our next match up. Until then... don't kill anyone.'

Dantos gave a small wave before going to do whatever he did in his spare time. Aionion slung Scarlet across his shoulders and took dust plane that would take them back to Beacon. He needed to speak with Ozpin and his associates about getting Roman to himself.


	20. Full Circle

**The pieces of the puzzle are fitting into place. Can you guess my intentions?**

**"Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind." ~JFK**

* * *

After a long, exhausting, vague argument with Ozpin that began with Ozpin dismissing General Ironwood and the other man and ended with him being denied, Aionion left to prepare to become a wanted convict.

He entered the locker rooms reserved for males and removed his heavy armor. He collected all the pieces and placed them in his locker. He was left in just his mesh underclothes and removed the top before moving to the showers. As he moved through the locker room, he witnessed several diverse reactions to his form.

Some of those that had seen combat-some even more than himself- brushed off the collection of scars along his body. It started with a long jagged mark starting from his lower left hip, running diagonally across his ribs, and ending once it neared the strange material his left arm was made of. A set of scars from an Ursa lay across his lower back. There was a clear chunk of different color skin that looked like he'd been mauled. Those were just the Grimm's markings.

There were so many scars that were perfectly round that littered his torso. There were tight clusters of them around the left side of his torso and one short line of them up across his spine. There was even a large area of slightly darker skin around his torso that resembled a severe burn. It all marred his perfectly porcelain appearance and gave the newer huntsmen and huntresses a glimpse of what would become of them, minus the different arm.

Aionion looked around at the new recruits, judging their reaction. Jaune, the leader of Team JNPR had paled severely and hid behind the appearance of putting on his armor, even though he had just taken it off. His teammate, Lie Ren, had examined the scars before nodding at him. Aionion nodded back before moving to the next face.

The men from Haven that they faced were there as well. Taylor, the tailor, wasn't really affected. He'd done worse to Grimm. His needle was on his back and caught the reflection of the light through the windows, reflecting the light onto Aionion's arm. His arm absorbed the light and lit up. Aionion glanced at his arm before shrugging and moving on. It was too late to change anything. Aionion hurried through the locker room nevertheless.

After showering, collecting all of his weapons, and exiting the building, he dropped his case of 'supplies' at the docks. He still had a few minutes before his self-arranged transport arrived. He settled down and opened his scroll to prepare some upon death messages. You could never leave without having a goodbye prepared in this line of work, as even the slightest mistake would end in your death.

He spent the next few minutes writing brief goodbyes to his other teammates. They were short and straight to the point, but it's the thought that counts.

'Aww that's sweet. Saying goodbye to your friends just in case you get killed while on a revenge mission. Maybe you should speak with a counselor about your suicidal habits. Or maybe introduce you to Blake? You two have a lot in common.'

'Shut up Nebula. It's stressful enough knowing that the soldiers on that ship will be hostiles along with Roman. I don't need you as well.'

'Monty, fine. Have some fun you sociopath.'

Just before he finished up the last message, his less than legal ship arrived. It was the bare minimum that would get him to the ship Roman was on. Aionion mentally sighed before kissing his life here and friends goodbye. He was going to end this war in one fell swoop.

Little did Aionion know, Ozpin had seen his defiance. While he didn't agree with his motives or means, who was he to talk. He sent child to their deaths and to war.

Aionion prepared for the short flight to Roman. Unlike his expectations, it wasn't a quick in and out in under ten minutes operation. It involved a short dogfight and him jumping onto the ship Roman was on. He landed on the ship and rushed at the two guards as the opened fire on him. These two were human, so he couldn't kill them. Aionion dived at the two guards legs and swept them out from underneath them. The two fell and Aionion quickly smashed their heads together, knocking them unconscious.

He hacked the panel next to the door and broke the locks as the door shut behind him. Aionion raced through the halls, avoiding fighting when he could and quietly knocking them unconscious or decapitating the robots. 'Roman should be near the captain. If he's as connected as they say he is, he might have an accomplice.'

Aionion stopped to think for a minute. 'Nebula, get out here and start placing explosives in all crucial points. We are making sure he does not escape.'

'What about us? Don't you want to return to your friends? Is this really how you want to die? A criminal? What about me? Once you die...'

Nebula let that sentence hang over Aionion's head for a minute or two before he replied. 'What choice do we have? This is the only way to remove him from existence. If we remove him no-'

'Do you not get what I'm saying you selfish bastard?! Roman is not the leader. He can be replaced by someone who uses more drastic measures.'

'This isn't for anyone but Sima. If killing him now strikes my name from history, then so be it. This never was for me, always for her. And now that I have him cornered, it's time to let go.'

Nebula gave up on arguing and formed next to Aionion with his hand on his shoulder. 'Then we both go into the darkness, brother.'

Nebula took all of Aionion's explosives and raced back through the ship placing the charges as he went. By the time he got to the door, Aionion was in front of the thick wall separating him from Roman Torchwick. The crew lay on the ground and Roman's accomplice had fled once Aionion flattened her to the ground.

Aionion ripped open the cell that reminded him of a coffin and raised a sword to Roman's throat. Aionion focused on him and mentally growled. 'It's been a long time, _Roman_. Perhaps one last dance before I finish this?'

Aionion sheathed his sword before kicking up Melodic Cudgel from where it lay on the ground, kicking it into Roman's gut as he did. Roman grunted before straitening and brushing off his coat. He looked over to where his hat lay before nodding for Neo to leave. She threw him his hat before she did and heatedly glared at Aionion.

"Well, well, well. Do we pick off from last time or do we-oof!"

Aionion had swept out Roman's legs and shook in anger when he replied to the taunt. 'Less talking, more dying.'

"Alright then. I don't have all day, or is it night?"

Aionion fired his gauntlets at Roman but he ducked under at the last minute. "Little eager big guy? My turn."

Roman feinted a swing at Aionion's side before hooking under his leg and pulling his leg from under him. Aionion went with it and planted his foot in his chest before firing. Aionion fell back onto the control panel, smashing most of the buttons while Roman slammed into the door to his cell. Aionion smashed his fists into the controls and stood up, pulling his rifle from his back as he did. He fired three times at Roman, each missing due to him rolling across the floor. Aionion emptied the entire clip this way before throwing away the gun and pulling his bastard sword from his back.

Aionion swung sideways at Roman, causing him to duck under and swing Melodic Cudgel at Aionion's left leg. The attack connected, staggering Aionion. 'Time to die Roman.'

"That almost sounds reasonable right now... Time to up my medications."

Aionion growled at Roman in response. "Aw, look. Are you angry that your friend died. Too bad." Aionion broke the door to Roman's cell with a wide swing that left him open to Roman hooking his neck and pulling him into a punch to the sternum.

By now the controls were irreparably smashed and each time their bodies smashed into the console, they blew up another Atlesian airship nearby. Aionion threw back Roman with a solid right hook and fired his gauntlet at the last second, cracking the window Roman hit. Aionion rushed at Roman while Roman stood and prepared his finishing blow. Once Aionion was within reach of his cane, Torchwick hooked his neck and threw him threw the window.

Aionion spun in midair to look back at Roman before getting the last word in. He caught sight of the White Fang boarding the ship as he spun. 'Looks like the last laugh, is mine.'

Aionion revealed the remote primer he had before engaging it. Roman's eyes widened before he fired his dust rounds at the trigger. All flew wide or hit Aionion and Roman could swear he saw him grin when he released it.

Roman looked around the area he was in. There were long scars dug through all the walls. The console was smashed, making the airship unstable and unable to be steered. He'd still completed his mission though. The infected scroll had been planted. Roman sighed before lighting his last cigar. 'Fitting that I would smoke the last one with my final moments. The only thing I regret, is not getting that divorce sooner, heh.'

Roman released a plume of smoke just as the charges destroyed the ship he was on, sending it to the earth. It exploded vehemently and several pieces of debris flew by him, some cutting him.

Aionion laughed as he fell to his death. He could see the ocean far below him. He was bleeding out at a rapid rate. How had he not noticed he lost his left leg and hip when the debris hit him?

If the Grimm didn't kill him, smashing into the water or bleeding out would. What was he thinking, falling from a ship several thousand feet in the air. For a man on his death bed(air?), he was surprisingly chipper.

'Why are you so happy, we're gonna die!?'

'What purpose do we have now? We got rid of own of the pawns in the game. We even removed some of the White Fang in that explosion.'

Nebula sighed and gave up on the dying man, beginning his preparations for the crash. 'If I die, my last regret is not having sex with each girl on Team NDGO.'

'My last regret is listening to your obnoxious voice right before I die.'

'Touche, touche.'

Aionion closed his eyes and waited for his death. He didn't notice Nebula coating them in crystal and leaving a large pocket of air. The large structure smashed into the surf and sunk very quickly, settling on the bottom in a matter of moments. Aionion was knocked into a coma on impact, where Nebula would keep him for several days as he played with his genetics.

'Ooooh! This one made his hair change color! I should change it back... after I take it through the entire spectrum! Maybe give him a mouth. I'm sure the ladies will be falling over themselves to touch him, hehehe. What does this one do? Hmmm, looks like nothing. Oh well.'

**And now Nebula has access to Aionion's genetics... Monty help us all at the monstrosity that comes of it.**

**Edit: I intend for a few days to pass as the terror and negative emotions collect in a great enough quantity to awaken the dragon. I mean seriously, the Grimm had to be brought into the city, it would take a few days for enough terror to gather to awaken a dragon.**


	21. New Experiences

**Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today, to witness the greatest thing you've ever seen... *imitates crowd screaming***

**"In war, you win or lose, live or die - and the difference is just an eyelash." ~Douglas MacArthur**

"He's gone."

Scarlet collapsed to the ground and began sobbing while Dantos looked lost on how to comfort her.

"Scarlet, in this line of work, you kiss your friends goodbye each time they leave for a mission. Who knows, maybe he survived."

"Maybe he di-"

Scarlet was cut off by the beeping of both their scrolls. Dantos took a glance at the message before scowling and punching a wall, breaking off a good chunk-and his hand.

Scarlet read through hers silently crying before collapsing to the ground. Dantos sighed and grabbed her and took her to the one safehouse he and Aionion had kept. It lay just beyond the wall and the only way to it was from the roof. They'd even put in turrets that were set to fire at anything that came through the doors if they weren't shut down. They were also closed circuited because Aionion was just paranoid like that.

Dantos settled in to wait for her to stop sobbing, even as he heard the shrieks of Grimm running towards the city.

It took Scarlet two days to stop the waterworks and refused to do anything but eat and drink in between sessions. Dantos had had enough of them and just knocked her unconscious. He'd had a very long two days, caged up in his bunker like this.

His eyes slowly shut closed, even as his scroll signalled that a message had arrived. It was Scarlet who awoke first and looked at the message.

"What does Op 23 mean?"

Dantos stirred and looked at her with bleary eyed. "It means he's back but cannot move from position. He's either been captured or injured. We need to go."

Scarlet caught him just as he fell. "You can hardly move, I'll go."

"What about weapons, we didn't put them in your locker."

"Give me your guns."

"Dark Intent? Fine."

"Don't you have any other weapons?"

"I'm sitting in the safest place in the world due to his paranoia. Hahaha, never thought that would be useful."

Scarlet was nearing the entrance when Dantos called her back.

"What?"

Dantos threw her a two keys on a ring before smiling. "Take the Phantom. He'll appreciate having it."

"What?"

"Go down a floor. It's the first vehicle on the left."

"Yeah but-"

"Don't worry, its got assisted driving. We'll have to show you how to drive later. Now go!"

Scarlet dashed from the room looking for the stairs. She whipped around the corner and nearly crashed into the turrets. She turned back and leaped down the stairs, letting her aura take the damage.

True to Dantos's word, the vehicles were a floor down. He just didn't mention that it was a complete hangar. She counted at least two Atlesian airships and one heavily modified one. The rest of the vehicles were land based from what she could tell.

Scarlet looked at the keys in her hand before looking at the first thing on the left. It looked to be a really large bike, or a very compact car. It had four wheels set in very tight pairs and had a large, bulky front.

Scarlet tried the first key before moving on to the second when it did nothing. The second key started the bike and revealed another keyhole next to it.

She sat on the bike, barely able to reach the handles sitting up. She leaned forward to get a better grip before jumping back as the large part of the bike opened just the slightest and two large swords jutted out at her.

She leaned back in again and they snapped shut. She gripped the handles before a screen beneath her asked if she wanted assisted driving. She hurriedly hit the yes button before squeezing the handles.

At first nothing happened until she slightly eased on the left handle. The bike jerked forward and the bike drove itself to the entrance where she screamed as the bike fell towards the ground.

The bike absorbed the impact and transferred it into kinetic energy with the help of a dust crystal. The bike shot forward and she tried to steer it towards where Aionion was located in the transparent map in front of her.

Aionion woke and smashed his hands onto the walls containing him. He watched as the small curious fish darted away in panic. 'Nebula, why are we in the ocean.'

'We crash landed. Just give me a few more moments and- done. Everything seems to be working fine.'

'What do you mean fine? I don't feel any different.'

'You thought I wouldn't take this opportunity to play Monty with you? I've upgraded you to a mostly human looking being.'

'What did you do this time?!'

'Look at the reflection in front of you.'

'Nothing's differen- What the hell! Why do I look human?'

'You don't catch on very well do you. Perhaps that's what that did... Whatever. Point is, we're blowing this joint. All you have to do is swim really hard, unless you want to be sent flying in this again?'

'I can't swim.'

'What do you mean you can't swim? Just move your arms and legs downward to move upwards.'

Aionion snorted at being treated like a child. 'I'm wearing my armor and I don't have enough room to take it off. Just send this glorified coffin to the surface already.'

'Guess he's not a morning person huh?'

Aionion braces for launch before relaxing and asking a question. 'When are you-!?'

They rose up in a plume of water that carried the crystal structure closer to the shore. Aionion took a step forward as the crystal dissolved around him, breaking into dust and being sucked up by his left arm. He sprinted across the sea floor, cursing the weight of his armor.

Just as his vision was starting to go black, he jumped off the bottom and fell onto the sand, choking up water from his new mouth. 'I hate having a mouth.'

'Its not so bad. You've only had it for a few hours.'

'Next time you're out here, I'm kicking your ass.'

'Yeah whatever. Don't get us killed, I'm going to sleep.'

Aionion sighed, mentally and physically, wow that was a new experience, at Nebula's laziness. 'Which way is Vale?'

When there was no reply, he groaned and marched up the beach, water pouring out of his armor as he did so. When he crested the last dune he caught sight of Vale, several miles in the distance. 'Great, none of my tech is working, my weapons are all gone, Nebula's being an ass, and I'm stranded until I get to the safehouse.'

Aionion shrugged and began jogging towards the city.

Scarlet was having the best and worst moments of her life. This bike was super fast and looked so cool, but she could hardly see where she was going. She continually took wrong turns before giving up and letting the bike steer. It gave her time to think and practice firing Dark Intent.

The guns were beautiful, in every meaning of the word. They were sleek and fit her hands well. It's accuracy was dead on and it had little recoil.

Her admiring the gun stopped when she wrenched the handles to the side to avoid colliding with a pack of Grimm. She fired behind her at them before looking forwards. She nearly missed the dead end that appeared suddenly, causing her to brake harshly, consequently throwing her from the bike.

Dark Intent flew from her hands and she lay painfully against the wall. Her head snapped up when she heard a crunch and several thuds. She dived for the guns and held them out protectively.

She relaxed when she saw a severely damaged Aionion step out from an alley, brushing blood off of his arms. "Stupid beowolves, bleeding on me."

Scarlet didn't recognize the voice but she new that face and armor. "Aionion!"

Aionion turned towards the sound with his hands held up defensively before lowering them when he saw Scarlet. "Why are you out here? I was on my way to the safehouse."

"I came from there. Why do you...?"

"Later." He paused as he looked around. "Is that the Phantom? Why is it scratched?"

"I brought it.. for you?"

Her answer came out as more of a question and he ignored it, settling for opening up the compartments and removing the swords. Nebula formed next to him before being sent into a wall, attracting more Grimm.

"Fuck! Could you restrain yourself the smallest amount?"

"Go back to sleep. There's no room for three."

"Monty fine."

"Umm, Aionion..."

He didn't even look to cut the beowolf in half. "Hmm?"

Her voice came out as more of a squeak. "Never mind..."

She sat in the front before he removed her by the hood of her cloak. "I'm driving, you already scratched her."

Aionion settled into the seat and set her behind him. "What's happened?"

She sighed before answering. "The White Fang invaded, bringing Grimm with them. There's widespread panic and most of the population is either dead, dying, or hiding."

"Did we find the spy?"

"Well, not exactly. We got a voice recording but we haven't found a match in any data. What are we gonna do?!"

"What we always do..." Aionion laughed. The sound alone gave Scarlet a shiver as his voice hadn't settled on a tone and constantly shifted, eerily reminding her of Dantos's voice. "Consider this your first Thursday War."

**I think I'm a little too excited for this war... I wrote half of this immediately after the last and finished it in under a week... I need to get laid-or friends, whichever comes first...**


	22. Abandon Ship

**"War is like a monster...It starts and it consumes and it grows and grows and otherwise normal men become monsters, too." ~****Patrick Ness**

War was an ugly thing. It tore nations in half and set them against each other. The aftermath was worse.

Buildings burning, corpses littering the ground, pools of blood at the base of walls. Aionion couldn't remember the last time he'd seen this much death and destruction. This wasn't even counting the Grimm that tried to pull him from the bike, leaping at random intervals, causing him to keep a sword out and limit their turning ability. Scarlet was taking care of herself behind him, fending them off with well placed shots to legs and foreheads.

It was only when they reached what was left of the wall that they slowed down. There was a massive hole in the wall that could easily allow a Deathstalker through. There was even large claw marks near the top of the wall, seeming like something large perched there. They drove through the hole and came upon sight of thousands of corpses lying on streets, some in odd twisted angles from falling from rooftops and windows.

Scarlet buried her face into his back when they passed a girl in a bright yellow dress, now forever stained dark orange. Aionion looked away from the dead and hurried on through the city. They drove on through the city, encountering less Grimm as they went, until they reached the safe zone that had been established in Vale.

There were white tents everywhere, each marked with a red cross. Aionion resisted the urge to look inside. Scarlet, too used to aura, attempted to look inside but was pulled back by Aionion. "Don't." His voice still didn't settle, although it was becoming deeper as time went on. "Civilians don't have aura to shield them."

Nebula groaned as he 'woke' from sleeping. 'What's this place? Doesn't look too sanitary.'

'It seems this is what remains of Vale. Its a miracle they even have this.'

Aionion stopped the bike a mile from Beacon. "Scarlet, its time to go. Lets get your weapons before that dragon unfreezes itself. They rushed to grab her things as quickly and quietly as possible. They only stopped once to avoid a Beowolf as it prowled by as they hid on the ceiling.

It would've worked, had Nebula not commented on the slightly compromising position they were in. Scarlet was hanging off of his side, jutting out over the Beowolf's head. 'Putting the moves on I see. Now-'

Aionion's concentration was halted for less than a second but it was enough that his foot slid down the wall and hit a door frame. The Beowolf's head snapped upwards before it howled and leapt at them. Scarlet was beginning to slide, so Aionion caught her by her boots and she hung in the air as she took aim.

Sharply pulling the trigger, the now dead Beowolf smashed into them with less force than it would have. They fell to the floor with a large piece of the wall they were on. Aionion slung Scarlet over his shoulder before rushing to leave behind the area they'd just been in. Scarlet repeatedly got her breath knocked out of her as she bounced on Aionion's shoulder. They made it safely, their only concerns being the Grimm that might have heard their heavy breathing as they ran.

Both gave a sigh of relief before returning to the safe house Dantos was at. Scarlet looked up at the massive building that had no accessible entrances. "How do we get in? There's only two entrances."

"We wait."

"You're making zero sense."

'Honestly you're not making much sense to me either.'

"Just wait you two."

They sat and waited for an hour as they waited for something to happen. "Nothing's happened so either you're playing me for a fool or.."

Aionion offhandedly looked at the holographic timer that appeared from the armor on his wrists. "An hour and thirty-three seconds. Dantos owes me money."

Scarlet stood in front of the wall while looking back at him. "What?!"

"We bet on how long until you burst. Just touch the wall."

She cautiously placed her hand on the wall before looking at him pointedly. She nearly jumped when the wall behind her slid into the ground with a loud screeching noise. She huffed before walking in. "I'm still angry about the bet."

Aionion gave a small tight-lipped smile before walking the Phantom in after her. 'Feisty.'

Nebula turned to look at the reader. 'Think he realizes how much more her hips are swaying than normal? No? Didn't think so.'

'You say something?'

'You really want to know?'

Silence was the only answer he received. 'Thought so.'

The entire complex was silent until they reached the hanger. They found Dantos in the clothes he wore at the team round but with the addition of a stark white apron. Comically, he was humming to himself as he cleaned the underside of his personal ship.

Aionion sighed while Scarlet began laughing. Aionion looked over from where he was storing his bike at the sound of laughter. To him, it was unfitting that someone could laugh before the biggest war Remnant had ever seen. To Dantos, it was comforting that someone still could laugh after seeing the ruins of the city, old and new. Nebula just loved to hear her melodious laugh and decided to join in.

Aionion left the three to laugh while he went to collect their next assignment. Hey, even during a war, this place took a lot of money to run. He'd just left the room when Scarlet lurched herself back to her feet. She blinked away the tears in her eyes while looking for Aionion. Not seeing him, she turned to Dantos to see he'd vanished as well. 'Great. Now they're doing the cliche disappear trick, like in that terrible comic we st- confiscated from the Arc kid.'

While she began her search for them, both males were locked in conversation in another building. "What the hell happened?!"

"Taking care of unfinished business."

Dantos softly grunted before gesturing to his new features. "And this?"

"Nebula."

Dantos rolled his eyes before sarcastically replying, "Oh, that makes soooo much sense."

Aionion nearly smirked. "Glad we agree."

Dantos nearly sputtered but held out. "So what now?"

"We move on. We can go anywhere in the world."

Nebula popped his head up from the edge of the roof and nodded. "Adventure is out there!"

Ignoring the rather odd sight of Nebula appearing from nowhere, Dantos moved to the edge of the roof, looking out into the darkness surrounding Vale. "What about Scarlet? We still have to ease her into killing other humans."

"We'll start with escort missions. Get her to kill some would-be assassins."

Dantos nodded before jumping across the divide between the buildings. Aionion took three steps back and threw himself across. Dantos landed as softly as a leaf on the ground while Aionion slammed into the ground in his customary crater. "Could you not create a crater when you land?"

"Nope. Too much weight."

Both knew that was utter bullshit. Aionion could lessen his gravity if he wanted. The solid metal door screeched as it opened, reminding Aionion to oil the hinges. It also attracted some left over Griffins that were preening themselves nearby. The two shared a look and simultaneously cocked their preferred weapon to shoot at the Grimm. Dantos fired freely, making use of the shotgun shells he loaded his hand gun with. Aionion loaded a clip with smaller bullets and spent precious time taking aim.

Dantos's bullets tore through their wings, sending them plummeting to their deaths. Aionion lined up each shot so that each took out three at once. Both were competively counting their kills, trying to outdo the other. Eventually the Grimm ran out and Dantos looked sheepish as he turned to Aionion. "Wanna call it a draw?"

"That's only because you know I won."

"Yeah, well, you're stupid."

"Who's the one who builds vehicles for fun?"

Dantos grumbled as they entered the building. They found Scarlet at the bottom of the stairwell, with Nebula hiding in the corner. Nebula mouthed run at them. They ignored him, seeing as they'd never been put in their place by a woman before. "What took so long? I was looking for you guys for an hour."

She had her arms crossed over her chest, clearly mad at something. She was looking straight at them unflinchingly. It unnerved them both but Dantos blundered on like only he could. "There was a bunch of Grimm! What were we supposed to do, let them eat us?"

Scarlet renewed her glare at them both. Dantos and Aionion turned their back to her and were formulating a plan to get out of this mess. "So we run as soon as she looks away for a split second?"

"Yeah, got any better ideas smartass?"

Aionion stood up and turned back to where Scarlet should have been. His eyes widened upon noticing her gone. Dantos turned around before putting in his own two cents. "So that's what that feels like. I almost feel sorry for anyone we did that to."

Scarlet spoke from where she stood, leaning over Dantos's shoulder. "Now you know how I feel."

Both reacted as minimally as possible. Dantos twitched and Aionion batted his lashes twice. Scarlet scoffed at their masculine pride. "Where is the nearest bedroom? I am so tired."

She'd yawned partway through the sentence, convincing them of its truth. Dantos pointed down the hall as they turned towards the single room at the end of the hall. The room was filled, wall to wall, with monitors, each keeping track of available bounties and missions for hunters. "So which is first?"

"We start with the basics, escorts, then we move to protection details."

"Easing her in? We were thrown into the deep end immediately."

"She is not like us yet. She knows only killing of monsters, not humans. Once she gets it over with, then you can toss her in. But for now, we have a bar to hit. Let's see if I can hold my alcohol as well as you."

"How much do you want to put on it?"

"One full card."

"One full card. You wanna put that much money on this? Feeling cocky today?"

Aionion smirked at Dantos. It was his favorite facial expression now. It disarmed the ones who saw it and allowed for an underhanded move. "We shall see."

Turns out, Aionion couldn't keep up. He still made it difficult to do though. They attracted quite the crowd once they got to their seventh drink. People had even begun to place bets on their favorite. Aionion was the crowd favorite, as he was the underdog.

They only stopped when Aionion slumped over in his chair, unconscious. Dantos threw his arms in the air among the cheering from the crowd. Dantos drunkenly slapped down the last drink of the night and put down six of the cards he had on him. "For the drinks, and everyone's next round."

None there knew that the cards were stolen from their own pockets. Dantos slipped Aionion onto his shoulder and carried him from the room. Dantos slung him against the wall of the ship they came in and sat down behind the controls. He briefly glanced back when Aionion slid down the wall. Shaking his head, he set the ship on autopilot and laid back in his seat. Dantos set his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling, reflecting on his day. 'I cleaned the ships, did some light dusting, and organized the armory. What am I forgetting?'

'Whatever, I'll do it tomorrow.'

* * *

Scarlet woke in an unfamiliar place and quickly gripped her weapons. She let out a sigh as she confirmed they were still there. 'Okay, so I have my weapons and I'm not restrained. Where the hell am I?'

She sat up in the soft, silky bed and looked over the room she was in. The door was against the far wall and a closet was set into the wall to her left. "Ooooooooh!"

Scarlet rolled her eyes when she recognized the voice. "What a scary ghost... Am I supposed to scream now?"

Dantos stepped out of the closet and leaned against the wall near the door. His cloak was slightly ruffled and she didn't see his weapons on him. She also noticed the smirk on his face. "That wasn't me."

Scarlet paled as a large, dark shadow fell over her. Scarlet's heart raced as the..thing behind her breathed down her neck before standing and walking into the middle of the room. Its large horned head turned to regard her before it broke into loud, heart clenching laughter. Dantos began tearing up as he started to laugh. "You should have seen the look on your face!"

Scarlet's face burned bright red in anger as she watched the monstrous being become Nebula. She lobbed a fireball at him in her anger. Nebula, in between his shifts, hastened his transformation to crystal. Just as it smashed into him, his body was coated in a layer of crystal, preventing it from doing any harm.

That didn't say much for the room though. The fireball had exploded, sending heat everywhere. Thankfully the only thing that caught fire was Dantos, as he was standing next to Nebula when it hit. Dantos looked around as his cape was slowly consumed in the fire. "Is something burning?"

Scarlet looked on, wide-eyed, as a large puddle of water hovered over his head. "Dantos you're on fire!"

"Hmm, so it seems."

His sentence was made incomprehensible when the large pool of water over him poured over his head, dousing him and the fire. He pulled off his now tattered cloak and roughly shook it, sending large rivulets of water to the floor. "Shall we go?"

She nodded before ushering him out of her room. "Let me get changed first. Where are we going anyway?"

"It's time for your first solo mission."

She froze with her shirt just over her head. She stared wide-eyed at the door Dantos had exited from. "What!?"


	23. Scarlet's Initiation Defense Isn't Fun

**Warning: This story contains excessive swearing, mild cases of extreme violence, and terrible references to dank memes. Be advised.**

"Alright, Scarlet, you're going to sweep through this section of the compound, staying out of sight until you reach Carter."

Scarlet swept her hand through the holographic map that lay on the table. "How is that supposed to help?"

"This is so easy, why is it so hard to understand? You go in the vents here, sweep through the sector and highlight hostiles, and avoid detection until you find Carter."

Scarlet pushed her hip out and rested a hand on it. "And...how am I supposed to do that?"

Aionion left the two to bicker as he brushed past Dantos and pushed a hidden panel in and to the side, settling into place with a quaint click.

The panel slid to the side smoothly, revealing its contents to the occupants of the room. His rifle was racked along the wall to the left and Dantos's weapons were racked on the wall directly in front of him. Scarlet's axe and knife were in her bag. Along the wall to his right were hundreds of cartridges and their ammunition. He slung his rifle around his shoulder and moved away from the hidden storage cupboard.

Dantos smiled innocently before voicing a question he'd never thought of. "Hey Aionion, if you're genderless, what gender do you consider yourself as?"

Aionion ignored the question. "Go make sure Nebula knows his place in this plan. I will take care of Scarlet until then."

Dantos nodded and left the room with unsatisfied curiosity. Aionion turned to face Scarlet who was still in shock about her current situation. "Grab your bag and meet me downstairs."

Scarlet snatched her bag up from the floor and rifled through it, ensuring that nothing was missing. She didn't trust Nebula enough not to. She was rather shocked when she found a new ax and knife, along with a hand sized box. Her new weapons had a rather polished look to them when compared to the weapons she'd previously had. Settling her weapons down on a nearby table, she looked up to Aionion with the box in her hands.

"What's this for?"

Aionion shrugged nonchalantly. "A gift, maybe?"

Scarlet ripped open the small box in an excited frenzy. Aionion focused on her face as she pulled the gift from its box; watching as her face brightened immediately upon opening it. Reverently holding it in the palm of her hand, the cool black stained metal of the small handgun glistened in the light.

Aionion reached into the box and removed a matching silencer. Pressing it into her hand, he stood and turned for the door. He had just crossed the threshold of the door when she called him back.

"Thank you. This is one of the nicest things someone has given me."

Aionion awkwardly nodded before extracting himself from the situation. Dantos was waiting for him just outside of the room with Nebula. "So you ducked out early..."

Aionion blinked at him before replying. "And I thought I sent you to take care of Nebula."

Dantos smiled wickedly. "Already done."

"He's right there."

Nebula pushed himself off the wall. "Actually, the original Nebula is off taking a well deserved vacation."

"So what are you then?"

"Not sure. IS there a correct term for breaking off and forming a less rigid body that is linked to the originals consciousness?"

Dantos put on sunglasses he had in his pocket for just this occasion before smashing his elbow through the Nebula copy's chest, causing it to shatter into pieces that then crumbled into nothing. "Yeah, dead."

"Are you done?"

Dantos replied deflatedly. "Not yet.. Scarlet, you done posing in front of that mirror yet?!"

Scarlet stepped out of the room with a dark flush to her cheeks. Dantos looked at her skeptically before turning to Aionion. "You really think it's necessary to just throw her into this life and see if she sinks or swims?"

"Be glad we don't have to introduce her to the Red Room yet. Will you be running over-watch or do I need to personally oversee her?"

Scarlet indignantly screeched at the two. Dantos smirked before bringing a list of names on a sheet. "An employer of mine needs some people removed. Just a milk run, nothing serious."

Aionion briefly pondered on the difference between their milk run and others. Dantos slid the list back into the pockets of his cloak that Aionion still had not found. He'd even stolen the cloak to see how that worked.

Dantos jovially waved behind his back as he turned the corner. "See ya!"

Scarlet heaved a sigh of reluctance before asking a question. "What does he need to go get milk for?"

Aionion lied straight to her face to preserve what little innocence she'd have after this assassination. "We haven't been to this place in a while, so I'm sure it's spoiled. Ready to go?"

Scarlet blew out a breath before steeling herself. "I'm ready."

Aionion turned away from her, striding to a set of stairs close by. Scarlet blindly followed Aionion to the garage. "Choose."

He'd said it on the stairs, so Scarlet had no idea just how massive the garage would be. It was at least twice the size of the one back in Vale. Vehicles of every size and shape covered the floor - some in disrepair - and Scarlet doubted some would even work.

Scarlet recognized some, like the modified ship and the Phantom, but most were unidentifiable to her. She, unsurprisingly, chose a bright red bike close to the front of the room. She had good taste though. It was a bike he'd built specifically for her.

The tires were completely enclosed, and the smooth design emphasized speed. The front rose shallowly over the middle, providing some protection while not reducing visibility. He'd forgone lights and instead put in two hidden barrels of that could fire ten rounds in under two seconds. The steering was phenomenal if he didn't say so himself and the tires were pushed out to the front and back, allowing the bike to completely rotate. It was as high tech as one could get.

Scarlet slid easily into the seat and just enjoyed the feel of how perfect the bike fit to her. "It's like this thing was made for me..."

Aionion appeared from nowhere, riding the silent super-bike. "That's because it was. I built that bike just for you. When you wait for missions to come to you, you tend to have spare time. And in your spare time after today, I will show you how to repair that bike."

Scarlet jumped at the sudden appearance. Aionion and Dantos did it merely because it entertained them. Scarlet followed after him once she settled on the bike. "Monty, Aionion. Stop doing that!"

* * *

Scarlet and Aionion were crouched on the low roof building that Carter's operation revolved around. The sun had just begun to rise, casting long dark shadows across the building that Aionion and Scarlet took advantage of. Scarlet was resting against a wall, attempting to breath calmly.

Scarlet was nearing her breaking point. Her breathing was hitching at random intervals and she seemed to avoid looking at the gaping maw that her entrance had become. "I don't know if I can do this...What if I mess up? What if they're waiting for me?"

Aionion pushed her closer to the vent with a stony expression. "I will take care of any guards nearby, just call them out to me and you focus on Carter."

Scarlet scooted closer to the vent and sat on the edge. Aionion watched stone-faced as she took a deep breath, pushed off the ledge, then disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

Scarlet fell for what seemed like eternity. It dragged on forever than suddenly she was in the open air. Having not braced herself, she slammed into the floor, costing her a chunk of her aura.

The shock of hitting the floor drug her from her downward spiral. 'I can do this… I can do this… I can't do this!'

Pushing herself off the floor, she rubbed the phantom pain from her ankle with her left hand while her right drew a rifle Aionion had given to her. She slunk around the corner, keeping an eye on a crate across from her. She dashed across the aisle, breathing a sigh of relief when she wasn't shot at immediately.

Hearing something hit the floor, she spun around the catch Aionion keeping someone from hitting the ground. Seeing the guards weapon lying on the ground shocked her back into motion. She scrambled up the crate, before quietly hissing at Aionion. "Did you kill him?!"

"He's unconscious. A corpse draws more attention than someone sleeping on the job."

Scarlet peeked over the crate before whispering down to Aionion. "I think I see Carter. Red hair, sunglasses, right?"

"Yes, just be careful about looking into his eyes. His semblance can temporarily put you into a trance."

Having warned her about his semblance, Aionion jumped onto a stack of crates, drawing everyone's attention away from Scarlet. "Carter, you know your men won't be able to stop me. Let's have a one on one contest to determine who leaves here alive!"

Scarlet could only stare in shock at him. Carter let out a bark of laughter while grabbing his chainsword off of the wooden box next to him. "I'll take that bet."

Carter revved his weapon before charging at Aionion, jumping into the air with a hearty laugh. Aionion jumped across to another stack, leaving behind a cooked grenade that discharged in front of Carter, scorching his clothes.

Scarlet was hyperventilating, being directly underneath Carter. Slowly she looked through the sights, lining up a shot before Carter leapt after Aionion again. Aionion took him head on this time, fending off the chainsword with his two smaller swords.

Carter jumped back, analyzing Aionion's defensive stance. 'He's stalling for time. That means he has someone else watching, ready to take me out.'

"Find the other one! Kill them if need be!"

Aionion leapt into motion, becoming a whirlwind of blades and sparks. Carter was parrying as well as he could, but still taking some hits to his aura. "Scarlet, now would be a good time!"

Scarlet had scaled another stack of crates, one large shipping crate higher than Aionion. Lying down with rifle in hands, she put the sights on Carter's chest. Her shaky hands squeezed onto the trigger, firing once.

She'd closed her eyes, only to open them again to Carter exhaling harshly before collapsing. Aionion stood in front of her, though her sight didn't need to be blocked. Her vision had tunneled, focusing only on Carter.

Tears welled up in her eyes but didn't fall. Aionion carried her out of the building, uninterrupted by the corpses blanketing the floor as they went.

* * *

5:07 PM, same day

* * *

Aionion looked up from his massive piles of paperwork that lay on his desk when Nebula entered the room, specifically missing most of his arms. "So, what happened this time."

It was less of a question and more of him beginning to fill out a damage report.

"Well uh, met this girl at a club, had a few shots with her, made a pass, and then another guy punched me for no reason."

Aionion wrote this down as: hit on girl, boyfriend punched Nebula in face. Damages...

"Was anything damaged or blown up in the resulting conflict?"

Nebula had the decency to at least turn away. "We may have, uh, caused a power surge…. to the whole city."

"And your arms?"

"He ripped them off."

Aionion's pen stopped scratching rapidly across the paper. "What."

Nebula waved it off nonchalantly. "Yeah, he just ripped them right off. Super strong guy."

"You do know that I can't even rip one off, even with the training I've done?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Did he say he'd be back?"

Precautionary methods had to be taken if so. If he was that physically strong, they might have to start ordering supplies to rebuild any lost walls or equipment.

"Yeah. I'm not too worried about it though. We can take him."

"And did he follow you here?"

Nebula's response was stopped by a well timed knock - on the wall across from them. Nebula, in his supreme idiocy, invited him in cordially. "Come on in! It's unlocked."

The wall smashed in and several of the pieces of rubble smashed into Nebula, removing his head from his shoulders with an ear-piercing, indignant squawk. "You bastard! Put my head back on right now."

Dantos chose that moment to walk into the room, then immediately turn around and call for Scarlet. "Hey Scarlet, time for class. Daddy's about to preach."

The massive mountain of man pushed his way through the breach and batted his weapon against his palm. "Alright! Where is he?"

"So it's just Nebula you want?"

"I want the cockhole from three hours ago. He ran off before we could finish."

"No, please don't Aionion! I have so much to live for!"

"Take him, bring back his pieces later."

"Alright? You're just gonna give him up?"

Dantos, ever so brightly, chose to speak back up. "No, no, no, no. WE are going to kick your ass. You do not come in here and make a mess just after I finished cleaning!"

"Did I upset you, you little house cleaning bitch?!"

Dantos pulled out his sickle and gestured threateningly at him. "That sounds like a challenge, asshole."

Scourge, as they later found out was his name, pointed what looked a cross between a baseball bat and a mace at Dantos's face. "It sure the hell is."

Aionion stepped into the holdup, bringing one of his short swords out from its sheath and placing the tip at his kidney. "Let's chill out before this gets too overkill."

Scarlet pointed her handgun at him, still shaky after this morning.

A peculiar person decided to step into the room after they settled into the hold off. "Uh, I know you guys are pretty busy, but uh, I have a date in an hour so could you hurry it up?"

Nebula began laughing; starting at a low chuckle then changing to a high eerie laugh. While laughing, he regenerated his arms, going through the entire transformation from crystal to flesh.

The awkward man who'd stepped through the hole drew two six-shooters from.. somewhere, and leveled them at Scarlet, the obvious weak link.

All was quiet for a moment while they all regarded who had who covered. Then Nebula began crumbling to pieces, each splitting off and forming their own Nebula. Soon the room was flooded with Nebulas and the two intruders were questioning their haste to fight.

Most of the Nebulas converged on Scarlet, providing what little protection their bodies could. As one they shouted. "Protect the lovely little lady!"

It was an odd battlecry, but it did the trick. Hundreds of Nebula fell upon the two intruders, splitting their attention indefinitely.

And even as the mountain swept through them like ants, more were spawned in then killed. He'd suffered several small cuts by now, but none were anything more than a nuisance.

The smaller man had stepped back out of the hole, limiting the rush to one at a time. A smart tactic, except the buffer had allowed them to bunch up at other exits, before they converged on him when he ran out of six shooters to empty.

To his credit, he held them off for a few minutes, diving around them and slashing with his large knife. The knife was knocked from his hand by a massive combo from all the Nebulas.

It was cheap, uncoordinated, and couldn't have worked any better. Some backed off from him, leaving five holding his arms, legs, and head in place. He hung limply, only held up by the Nebulas around him.

The crowd of Nebulas split and opened a path to what seemed like an executioner's desk. A single Nebula sat behind the desk made of Nebulas, staring down at him. He barked off a sneer of a reply. "Search him!"

They stripped off his cloak, revealing one more fully loaded revolver strapped to his chest. A Nebula confiscated it, spinning it playfully.

"You're punishment has been decided. Will you take execution, or beheading by blunt force?"

The man spat at him. "What kind of mock trial is this?!"

The crowd of Nebula's around him murmured angrily, before screaming out their thoughts. The one sitting at the desk, smashed his fist into it for a few seconds, demanding silence. "Order in my court! Make your choice now."

"I refuse to choose, asshole!"

The Nebula smacked his fist into the desk, silencing the angry shouts that rose up again. "Bring his weapon forward."

The Nebula residing as judge stepped down from his chair and strode towards him, picking the revolver up from the Nebula offering it to him.

He removed all but one bullet, spinning the barrel shut with a click. He placed the barrel to the executee's forehead and pulled the trigger.

The executee had shut his eyes and looked back up at his executioner when he realized he hadn't died.

The Nebula made a questioning noise before pulling the trigger again. The man, later identified as Dune, slumped in their arms as his body fell limply to the ground, landing with a soft thud.

* * *

Scourge flipped his weapon dramatically before punching Dantos in the face, stunning him. Aionion and the horde of Nebula's burst into action, attacking from every angle conceivable.

Scarlet flinched and fired off a wide shot, hitting the ceiling. Scourge swung his weapon wide, smashing through several Nebula at once, only for more to take their place.

Aionion stepped forward with Dantos, both swinging their weapons upwards, cleaving through the space Scourge had been occupying. Scourge swung back over his head, partially blocking Aionion but letting the Nebula's and Dantos hit him.

Dantos's sickle carved up his leg, biting deep into his vest before ripping it out. The Nebula's grabbed hold of his left arm, immobilizing it. Scourge sent a jolt of electricity through his left arm, paralyzing the Nebula's for a few seconds.

But a few seconds was all he needed. His arm ripped through, then backhanded the Nebula's, shattering them. Aionion slid his shoulder knife from its holster and rammed it into his shoulder joint, separating the bones and breaking through his collarbone. Consequently, Scourge roared in pain before his weapon slid out of his limp hand.

Scourge began forcing more electricity through his body, preparing for a last hurrah. Aionion dug the dagger in deeper, attempting to stop whatever he was planning. Scourge began grunting in pain before releasing all the energy at once in a wave, releasing a makeshift emp.

All the Nebula clones remaining shattered while Aionion and Dantos were thrown back into walls. Scarlet was forced into and through the door she was standing against.

Aionion and Dantos removed themselves from their personal craters in the walls before looking at the burnt, blackened corpse frozen in that struggling position forever. Dantos breathed a sigh of relief and settled back onto the rubble.

Nebula strode into the room, spinning a revolver around his finger before throwing it behind him carelessly. "Alright! So who's making breakfast tomorrow?"

Everyone present but Nebula groaned before slumping into their respective rubble piles.

**(A/N) Sorry about how long that took, I was dealing with high school. Next chapter will be out eventually, and I'll try to get a lot of writing done over Christmas Break. I have several ideas for the next major arc, but I will need your opinions because you all are much more creative than I.**


	24. TryoutsTo Die For

**Sorry about the delay, I wanted to edit some pieces and make them read more smoothly.**

Aionion had just began on the paperwork that had stacked up in his office while away. It was a daunting task, considering Nebula was always with him and always ready with his perverseness.

His.. secretary for lack of a better term… Garnet, was incredibly beautiful, but that wasn't why she worked for him. It was her ability to multitask and competency with paperwork that got her the job.

She looked physically human too, having no noticeable characteristics that pointed her out as a faunus. Hers were microscopic, forming as thin silica that could stick her to any surface, enough that she could climb walls and ceiling and that she could secrete a venom, poisonous enough to paralyze a man in minutes.

Her black hair and golden eyes made her stick out though. She also hated having her hair long, always cutting it short, right at her shoulders.

She waved cordially at him from her perch on the ceiling - reading upside-down. "Hello! Are we doing anything new today or are we just filing more paperwork?"

"I need you to file some mission reports from the past few months and after we will be measuring your progress in technique. If you've made enough progress, I will consider taking you on missions with the new recruits."

She bobbed her head in agreement. "Well, how many papers need filed?"

Aionion handed her a small folder from his coat. "After that, we'll need to ensure that all of them are in the correct order."

Gar frowned. "I've filed them all away correctly and in the right spots. We also need more filing cabinets."

Gar crawled along the ceiling and opened a door in example. Stepping inside the room, Aionion commented on its design. "You really live up to your spider heritage. This room is designed to be a maze."

"There's three more rooms beyond that. More cabinets will be needed unless you finally decide you want all of them digitally filed, you paranoid bastard."

"Computers can be hacked, papers must physically searched through."

Gar muttered a "paranoid bastard" under her breath before dropping from the ceiling and moving to place the files where they needed to be. She returned within a minute or two, having crawled along the walls to save time. "Everything's filed away. Now about taking me on missions….."

Aionion left the room and Gar followed, after dropping from the ceiling. She bounced along beside him, attempting to start some conversations with him. Aionion led her outside, taking her to a large field behind the building.

He stood in the middle of the field and turned to face her. "You have three minutes to plan your attack. I will defend and grade your performance."

She nodded and stood still for a minute considering her options. 'I can't come at him from above, he'll expect that. Can't come from the sides… Only option is from below.'

Settling on her plan, she disappeared into the trees and brought her breathing under control. Utilizing her semblance, she phased into the tree and moved through the ground towards Aionion.

Aionion pretended not to notice her, simulating an unknowing target. Every once in awhile though, he would look up and around, keeping a constant watch around him. Gar grabbed his boots, making them intangible and pulling them down into the ground.

Stuck in the ground, Aionion split his attention between around him and underneath him, while Gar moved back through the earth to the tree again. She crawled further up it, preparing to leap at Aionion.

Aionion looked above him again, spotting her among the leaves of the tree. Bringing his rifle up, he fired a few times at her, most shots going wide or Gar moving out of their paths. Just as he went to reload, he noticed that while she had implanted him in the dirt, she stole the rest of his magazines.

Gar dived off of the tree, landing on Aionion's chest and placing the blade that came out of her bracelet to his throat.

"Dead."

"Dead as well. If there was more than one guard, you would have been found out. Now tell me what you did right."

"Disabling your mobility and stealing your ammunition." Aionion gestured for more. "Um… attacking from places that would not reveal my position."

"Good. Very good. I'm sure you'll do well in assassinating marks, though you do need to work on getting more tact."

"Will I be able to participate in the annual….?"

Aionion considered her question as he went back to the Phantom. "Maybe. I will speak with the others and consider their opinion."

Gar groaned in frustration and moved back into the filing building. "Let me lock up and then I'll join you."

"Just go to the remains of Cherno, we'll find you there."

Aionion stepped into a room that was completely dark, except for harsh, bright lights shining down upon three men wearing blank, black masks. They sat in silence for a few seconds until Aionion laid a commander's insignia patch upon the table between them. "Very well. We have more if you are willing to take them."

They laid three folders on the table, nondescript and plain vanilla. Aionion opened one folder, skimming the info before collecting all three. He nodded at the three employers before exiting.

Waiting just outside the building was Dantos, having parked his personal airship just outside uncaringly. At least he left its cloak on…

"We're gonna need some extra hands for these jobs. Gather up all the aspiring recruits, get them to Cherno"

"Oh for Monty's sake…. Why is it Cherno always the testing grounds?"

* * *

Ruins of Cherno

* * *

Cherno, better known as the ruins of Cherno, was a place devoid of Grimm. Most of them had been captured by Nebula, who had stored them in cages based on species of Grimm; almost like pets.

This was the initiation grounds for many of their "students." This year, they came from around the world: two from the mountainous area in Atlas, another two from Menagerie, Garnet from Mistral, and of course Scarlet from Vale.

Each one was given a one way scroll upon their arrival, as a means of assigning new tasks. Nebula had gathered all of the students at the edge of the town. They stood in a small huddle, gathered around a large box full of ammunition. Nebula sat nearby, babysitting the little ones while the others set up the course.

The ground rose up behind them, exposing a small cylinder with four pieces of paper. Nebula extracted the first four pieces and read the names on them. "Rust, Scarlet, Garnet, Makurro! Remove your blindfolds and come collect your assignments. Survive this, and you might be ready to take on full assignments."

Nebula stepped into the cylinder as it slid back into the ground. "The rest of you already have your assignments, so go….. And Scarlet, make sure you remember that, sometimes, help is closer than you think."

* * *

Aionion and Dantos oversaw their progress with the abundance of cameras throughout the town. Nebula stepped into the room, carrying six blindfolds. "Place my bet down. One of them dies."

Dantos chuckled heartedly. "My bets on two dying. Some of their flags require vertical and horizontal scaling. Aionion?"

Aionion was watching the cameras that were focused on Scarlet. "Place my bet on two deaths this year, I have faith in some of them. Though I do believe we need to increase the difficulty."

Dantos nodded in confirmation. "What should we release? We have a Beringel for those that attempt to climb the skeletons of buildings. Or those Jykells we captured…"

"Rust has collected his first flag. He scaled the building with his hook weapons. Second task inbound."

Nebula jumped into a nearby chair so that it rolled him into range of the table. "Let the Beringel loose, we'll direct it towards Rust-"

"Makurro has collected his first flag as well. Appeared behind the Grimm that guarded it, decapitated it, then disappeared. No traces. Second task inbound. Unfortunately, one the faunus' fell from his first flag and didn't have a large enough aura to take the impact."

"And now Makurro. Set their third tasks nearby the gate. And send a clone to clean up."

"Scarlet and Garnet tag-teamed the Grimm guarding their flags. Should we keep them together?"

"No, split them apart. We want their individual talents to shine through."

"Second tasks inbound."

"And now the waiting game. This is why I dislike holding this in Cherno."

Nebula set his feet on the edge of the table while watching some cameras on his scroll. "Ah, the joy of not having to climb up the side of that building to reach a third flag."

"All have collected their second flag and are regrouping at the gate."

Dantos moved over to the screen that covered most of the wall behind Nebula. He swiped away from the side and swept through the list of captive Grimm before releasing the locks on the Beringel's cage. "Beringel on its way out."

Aionion nodded. "Keep Rust and Garnet nearby the gate. Move Makurro and Scarlet to quadrant four. Move the other one away from the others, I want to see if his talents can hold up when alone."

Dantos swiped from the right side and set the tasks where they were required. "Done. Beringel's out of the gate and rampaging towards Rust and Garnet."

Nebula sighed and stretched in his seat. "The Beringel will keep them occupied for a while. Who wants some coffee while we wait? Keep us awake until they collect their third flags and direct them to the safe zone?"

Dantos grimaced while pointing accusingly at Nebula. "The last thing we need is you hyped up on sugar."

"Ah, come on! That last time was fun!"

"That last time caused a fire! With civilian casualties!"

"It just depends on your perspective."

Dantos spun around theatrically. "I'm done with this conversation."

Aionion moved to the screen and sent the locations of the third flags to the four participants. "Nebula, go check on how the Jykells are doing. I think we'll shorten this exercise to one full day of fighting Grimm. Once they've collected their third flag, release all the Jykells and they will be given the message to survive the night."

"Are you trying to make me win, Aionion? They won't survive a full night running from all of them."

Nebula was just putting in a second earbud when the four participants collected their third flags. "They've collected all three. Time to run with the bulls. Looks like you two assholes win."

Dantos turned to Aionion in shock. "We have those?!"

Aionion shook his head negatively, "No, we do not. Nebula saw fit to play matador for a while." He dismissed the task section of the screen and released all of the Jekylls they'd captured for training.

Dantos removed an imaginary hat and pressed it to his chest. "Oum have mercy on their souls."

Nebula removed one earbud and opened one eye. "I didn't take you for the religious type, Dantos."

"When you've seen and done some of the things I have, you tend to turn to larger beings for help repenting."

Aionion processed the ideological debate going on behind him as he sent the final task to the four participants.

* * *

Said participants were clustered together underneath the skeleton of what used to be a seven-story building. Rust had removed his fur coat and slung it across Scarlet and Garnet's shoulders, knowing that the temperature would plummet during the night.

They heard the howls before they received their fourth task. An eerie 'survive the night.' Everyone but Scarlet recognized the howls as those of Jykells. Makurro heaved a sigh of reluctance. "I can only take one person with me to the top."

Rust put his coat back on and stabbed his ice picks into the wall in preparation to climb. "I've got climbing gear. I'll carry your gear if you can climb Garnet."

"I can stick to the wall enough to climb. Scarlet, go with Makurro."

The last participant, unable to reach the group in time, ran off into a building to hide.

Set with how they were getting to the roof, the four took to climbing. Scarlet and Makurro merely appeared on top of the roof, though he was looking a little pale. Rust hauled himself up the building, one strike at a time. Garnet scaled the building swiftly, though her hands were slightly cut.

Rust looked over the edge to catch sight of hundreds of Grimm coating the city streets. He spun around and covered the two females in his coat again. "The cold is just as much an enemy as the Grimm. As long as we stay quiet and out of sight, the Grimm will not come up here."

Without his coat on, the others could see the numerous pouches that were strapped to his belt. Each was full of bolts for a crossbow, though he mainly used his ice picks. He attached the two pieces and pulled back on the hooks, creating an intricately designed crossbow. "Does anyone else carry silent, long range weapons?"

Makurro was the only one to nod affirmative. He spun his swords theatrically before attaching them at the hilts, forming a makeshift bow. He shifted his heavy robes to the side revealing four strange devices. One was selected and attached to where an arrow would normally be loaded. The bow looked large and unwieldy, but it functioned well enough.

Rust nodded appreciatively. "As long as we keep the Grimm off the rooftops, we'll be fine for one night. Two will be on lookout while the other two sleep, switching every three hours."

A blood-curdling scream set them all on edge, preventing sleep from claiming them. The scream carried out into the night, testimony to the relentless nature of the Jekylls.

Garnet and Rust volunteered for first watch, letting Scarlet and Makurro rest until their turn. Garnet would spot the Jykells that scaled the buildings, and Rust would eliminate them. After nearly a half hour of quiet, Rust missed a shot. He hissed in surprise when the Grimm spun around and sucked in a lungful of air before howling.

He cursed and spun around to wake Makurro. "Makurro, they've caught sight of us! Get up, we don't have time to thin them out anymore. There's too many!"

Makurro was up in an instant, bow in hand. "Shoot the ones at the top so that they hit others on the way down. My bow runs off of my aura so I can't fight ranged for long unless someone lets me sap some aura."

Scarlet moved to an edge of the building and began raining down fireballs in a panic. They exploded on contact with the Grimm, causing many Jykells to fall to the ground already fading into smoke. Rust pulled her back from the edge once she fell to one knee in exhaustion. "That's enough. I think we can handle what remains."

Scarlet managed a cry for help before a Jykell bit down on her leg, dragging her to the roof edge. Garnet was there in an instant, driving her bracelets blade into the Jykells side, causing it to relinquish its hold on Scarlet as it fell to its death.

Scarlet launched more fireballs over the edge until her body refused to do so. Still more Jykells flooded the building, scaling the walls and each other in their haste to kill the humans on top. Scarlet collapsed in the middle, utterly exhausted from using so much aura.

The others pulled back from the edge, engaging the Grimm in melee fighting. The Jykells swarmed them, and they did all the could to prevent too many attacks from hitting them.

Scarlet reached a hand into a hidden pocket, and removed a note that had crinkled when she fell. 'For that extra push to the finish line, swallow me.' A single crystal lay in the palm of her hand, glistening with overwhelming power.

Scarlet hurriedly swallowed the crystal, feeling it burn her throat as she did. Then she felt aura flood her body, overflowing her capacity for aura. Enough that she began to glow a bright red. She raised one hand and tried to create a normal fireball. Instead, a scorching, white sun danced in her palm, blinding with its brilliant intensity.

She lobbed it into the air, where it exploded in a shower of light and flames. She then spun the flames around the group, forming a protective wall. The Grimm were scorched and it burned inside, like the sun had decided that this morning it wanted to touch the ground it shone down upon.

The other participants stared in aw at the power she exuded, watching as she dismissed the flames with a simple hand movement before stumbling to the ground. Rust and Garnet caught her, though it upset the wounds that their aura was slowly stitching back together.

A five-man bullhead, which Dantos had lovingly named the Pelican, landed harshly on the rooftop. A voice rang out from within, urging them to get moving. "Get the injured in, keep the Grimm off the ship."

Garnet slung Scarlet over her shoulders and leaped into the ship, setting her against a wall while a swarm of Nebula in white coats fussed over her. Makurro leapt in next, rapidly firing away at the Grimm behind Rust. "Jump in, I can't keep that many off of you!"

Rust sprinted for the ship even as it pulled away from the edge and began to take off. The Grimm swarmed the building in his absence, chasing after him in a mass of teeth, claws, and black. He leapt at the edge of the building, smashing into the wall on the other side of the Pelican.

Grimm began to pour onto the Pelican, beginning to weigh it down. Several Nebula broke off from Scarlet and rushed out of the Pelican, grabbing Grimm and plunging with them as they went. The rest of the Nebula crumbled, tripling their numbers and sending another wave of Nebula out to remove the Grimm.

The Pelican began to lift back up, then shot up once half of the Nebulas jumped off again. The occupants all heaved a sigh of relief besides Scarlet, who groaned in pain.

* * *

Dantos stared up at the giant tower that threatened to intrude on the night sky in front of him. The Council had just called Ironwood out of his office, so it should be empty. 'Chains are too noticeable, and can't teleport inside until I find a shadow big enough; climbing it is.'

Resigned to his fate, Dantos began scaling the wall, using his scythes as handholds. What could have been an hours climb took three, having to steer clear of windows and to not let his shadow fall into the rooms he passed.

Dantos slithered onto the ledge outside the window and stretched his shadow as far into the room as he could before connecting it to the desk's shadow. He reached his hand into his own shadow, witnessing it appear from the desk's. Switching hands, he inserted the scroll into the desk, downloading all of the files he found.

Just as the files finished downloading, General Ironwood stepped back into his office, raising his pistol to destroy the incriminating scroll. Two shots were fired, but Dantos blocked both of them with his arm before pulling the scroll back and jumping off the building.

Dantos breathed easy once he was in an inconspicuous bullhead back towards the center of Atlas. Those bullets had packed a punch, having shaved him down to half of his aura. A few more bullets, and Ironwood might have gotten his data back. 'And my head…'

* * *

Ironwood flew angrily into the Council's chamber, going to reprimand them for pulling him from his office while an intruder stole military information. His anger dissolved though, when he found blood pooled at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the staggered seating.

Following the blood trail, he came across the sight of three out of the eight elders with their throats slit cleanly and efficiently. Ironwood crushed the scroll in his hand in anger, realizing that the entire intrusion was planned down to their murders.

Thoroughly infuriated, he stormed back to his office, assigning someone to search the entire Council chamber for anything he could use to identify the intruders. Ironwood refused to be humiliated like this, without proper retribution.

The search proved fruitless, besides a useless trail of footprints that stopped at a solid wall. Ironwood went to inspect the wall in question, unbelieving in coincidences. Intuition told him that this wall was significant, that this wall held another key to their plan.

After several fruitless minutes, Ironwood shot the wall in his frustration. When cracks spread across the wall, he shot it again and watched the entire left wall shatter into crystal shards that crumbled into dust. Stepping into the hole, he found the other five Councilors, bound and gagged expertly. He moved to the still-living Councilors to inspect them while a Specialist stepped in behind him, unknowingly breaking a wire that Ironwood had missed.

The Specialist caught eight crystal shards to the chest while General Ironwood took one shard to the shoulder. They crumbled soon after, leaving behind no trace but damaged aura. Ironwood let out a frustrated breath. "Whatever is is that they needed, they have it. Every single piece of development we've had in the last two years, they have it."

**Temporarily, this story will go on a hiatus, while I work on getting my co-author back into being. I will however be uploading a Halo story soon, following the efforts of Echo-13. Also, if you would like to see more of the Destiny fanfic, please leave a message on either this story, or that one.**


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